Power Rangers: Soul Beasts
by JD-Spinner of Yarns
Summary: Zordon and Alpha are once again charged with building a team of heroes to defend the Earth from evil. A new team of hard hitting, tough talking, badasses answers the call. This new cast of characters and their new Zords take up the same mission as they always do: Protect the Earth at all costs. Rated T for bad language and violence.
1. The New Team

_Note: This is an 'original' Power Rangers universe, if you can call it that. The team is my own cast of original characters from other works of fiction that I am currently working on. Their names have been changed but they are, in essence, the same. This was just a fun idea I had of putting my own characters onto a Power Rangers team. A few characters from Mighty Morphin' make an appearance and, as such, do not belong to me. They belong to Namco Bandai and Saban. Violence and swearing are abound as I gave this team a much more 'hard edge' than the regular shows have. I've done this because this story is half parody and half love letter to a show I loved as a kid. It both makes fun of Power Rangers and pays tribute to it. I hope that comes across here and I hope you like it._

 _Note 2: I changed the title since I had the realization that the original title was a bit too close to something that would appropriate Native American culture. I changed one word to fix that. If that upsets you, well, bye!_

Chapter 1: The New Team

The rain pattered against the windshield of the derelict tractor but she continued her work. The engine turned over and refused to start. A second attempt, with a heavy foot on the throttle, still did nothing. After a third attempt brought the same result, she heaved a sigh and leaned on the wheel. A roll of thunder echoed in the far distance but the sound was accompanied by a nearby voice just outside.

"Excuse me!"

She turned in her seat and saw a man standing in the rain. A quick look behind him revealed a car parked along the side of the road about thirty feet away.

She climbed down out of the tractor and stood in front of him. He was a short man; much shorter than she was. But that didn't take into account that she was six feet tall herself. People often remarked how tall she was for a woman. In fact, she could see by the look on the stranger's face that he was thinking the same thing. She had seen that look too many times.

"Well hello," he said, his voice changing all of a sudden. It sounded to her like he was about to hit on her. She'd heard that enough times, too.

"Car trouble?" she asked.

"Actually, I was going to say I'm lost but I'm starting to think I'm right where I ought to be."

"Is that right?"

"It is, sweetheart. You're a work of art. Just look at that gorgeous brown hair. And those fierce, dark eyes. You're beautiful."

She rolled her eyes.

"Highway is back the way you came," she said. "A lot of folks get lost on this road. It's not a straight shot but the way back will get you where you need to go."

The man stepped closer.

"Maybe you could, ah, come with me."

"Don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I've got work to do."

The man laughed.

"Come on now. I'd bring you right back."

Her eyes started to harden.

"You understand the words I said to you, right? You simple or something?"

"What were those words again?"

"Short version: no. Long version: fuck off."

A dangerous look entered the man's eyes.

"Something wrong with you, lady? I pay you compliments, I offer you companionship, and this is my goddamn thanks?"

"Pretty sure it ain't me that's got something wrong," she said. "Now I think it's best you clear out of here."

"Or what?"

A surge of heat rushed through her entire body and all of her muscles tensed. She clenched both of her hands into fists. Just as she took a step forward, she heard someone open the door to the farmhouse.

"Kiera, who's there?"

Kiera kept her eyes trained on the stranger.

"Nobody, Gavin. Go on back inside."

She heard Gavin step outside and call to her again.

"What's wrong, Kiera?"

She never could hide anything from the kid.

"Nothing's wrong. Go back inside the house, Gavin."

The man continued to eyeball her and decided then to turn away from her.

"You're lucky," he said.

"Ain't me that got lucky, boy. Just get lost. Again."

The man laughed as he walked back toward his car. Kiera didn't stop watching him until he turned around and drove back the way she told him to go. She turned away from the road when she heard Gavin step up beside her.

"Who was that?"

"Just some lost tourist from the city," Kiera said.

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing, Gavin. It's fine."

A wide smile spread across the little boy's face.

"You were gonna kick his ass, weren't you?"

"Language, Gavin."

Gavin chuckled.

"Sorry. But you were, weren't you?"

Kiera tossed the boy's red hair and looked down into his sharp, brown eyes.

"Only if he refused to leave."

"I would have paid to see that."

Kiera shook her head.

"Don't start up with that, now. You know I don't like to hurt people."

"But you know how to fight, right?"

Kiera sighed.

"A bit."

"Will you teach me?"

"I already told you that I would but only if you promised not to use it to beat people up. You still haven't made that promise."

"But I only want to beat up bad people."

"That doesn't matter. You have to have discipline. Until you show that to me then you're stuck feeding the chickens."

Gavin hung his head.

"Why can't you just teach me, Kiera?"

"Already told you. You gotta wise up. You're good kid but you've got a lot to learn."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I won't ask again."

Kiera rubbed the kid's head.

"You'll wise up with age, Gavin. Now go on back into the house like I said."

Gavin said nothing more and started walking back to the farmhouse. As soon as he went inside, Kiera felt the earth quake beneath her feet and she almost fell over backward. She looked toward the city and saw smoke billowing out from somewhere.

"What in hell was that?"-

-"Zordon, we're in trouble!" the robot proclaimed.

"Yes, Alpha. I am aware." The old man sounded tired as he spoke. But there was no one else in the room with the robot. Alpha played around on some switches on the console in front of him. A holographic projection behind the console started getting clearer. It was massive and displayed only the head of a grizzled and bald old man with a rough beard on his face.

"What is happening, Zordon?" the robot asked.

"The viewing globe, Alpha. You know the drill by now."

The robot turned to look and saw something he had not seen in centuries. A massive starship had come into the atmosphere and several humanoid creatures were pouring onto the streets of the city. He noticed a massive letter 'Z' on the starship. The creatures even had a 'Z' symbol on their chests. The robot could see that the local police force was being overwhelmed by the humanoid creatures.

"Oh boy. That's not good, is it?"

"Of course it isn't," Zordon said. "You know what this means, right?"

"All my circuits are telling me that Lord Zedd has returned."

"Indeed. So what does that mean, Alpha?"

"We need help, Zordon!"

Zordon's formless head nodded in the projection.

"That's right, Alpha. We need a team. You know what to do."

"Do they have to be teenagers again?"

The tired old man sighed.

"No. Just find the best this world can offer, teenager or not."

"All right. Here's hoping," Alpha said.

He played around on a few buttons and started scouring the globe for the right talent.-

-A woman in the city was surrounded by five of the humanoid creatures but she refused to back down. She dropped her backpack and reached into it, pulling out a pair of fighting sticks. She held them up as the strange things continued making their odd sounds and circling her. She said nothing. Not waiting for them to make the first move, she jumped at one of them and hit the thing square in the head. It fell to the ground and rolled but got back up again.

Two of them rushed her from behind but she was fast enough to throw a kick to one's stomach and hit the second with the stick in her left hand. Another rushed at her and felt the wrath of the woman's right hand stick. They reeled from the attack but two others tried attacking her again. Before she could react she disappeared in a flash of light that almost looked black. The creatures looked around, confused, and then dispersed and continued on into the city.-

-Meanwhile, another woman was running from the creatures but it wasn't out of fear. She had a plan in her mind. While ducking and dodging out of the way of the creatures, she rushed into a store window and tucked herself into a ball as she smashed through the glass. She landed in the store on her feet and looked to the cash register on the counter. She rushed to it and just as she pressed the button, she disappeared in a flash of yellow light.-

-A shorter man in a green suit, having just left his business meeting, found himself surrounded on all sides by the strange creatures. He considered his options and decided he had no choice. He had to fight back. They rushed him and he started throwing punches every which way. He landed a few solid ones, remembering his boxing lessons, but he was soon overwhelmed and forced to back away from the creatures. But he had backed right up against a wall and the creatures were closing in. Just as they were about to reach him, a flash of green light whisked him away.

-This man had long hair and sharp eyes and he wasn't about to let these creatures harm the child they now surrounded.

"Hey!" he shouted.

They turned to look at him. A sinking feeling entered his stomach. He didn't know much about fighting and he suspected he was going to find that out the hard way in a few moments. But he didn't care in that moment. All he cared about was getting the child out of harm's way.

"Come at me then, you weird little shits!"

The creatures rushed him and he ran at them like a raging beast.

"Run!" he shouted to the kid.

He took a stiff forearm to the face from one of the creatures and fell to the ground on his back. As he started to get up, he saw the child run away. Once the kid was out of sight, he kicked the feet out of one of the creatures and punched it in the chest as it fell. When he did, he watched it explode into pieces of clay and disappear. The sight dumbfounded him but he didn't have any more time to think about it as he flew away in a blue flash of light.-

-Kiera saw two strange people running toward her farm from the road. They were oddly dressed, wearing what looked like white bodysuits. There were Z's on their chests and their movements were erratic and crazed. But they ran on toward her and soon she realized what their purpose was; they were coming right for the farmhouse. She bolted to the door and lowered her shoulder into the one that reached the front step first. The creature fell to the ground and then stood back up. By then the second creature had reached the house. She stepped to it and grabbed onto its arm, pulling it to the ground while the first jumped on her back. She shook the creature off and whirled around, hammering its head into the ground.

She heard Gavin run to the door and heard him call her name.

"Stay in the fucking house, Gavin!" she shouted. The unbridled rage in Kiera's voice was like nothing the boy had ever heard before. He did as he was told and closed the door again, locking the deadbolt. But he ran to the front window and just had to watch what Kiera did to the weird people that she was fighting.

As the second creature stood up again, Kiera stepped forward and threw everything she had into a heavy punch straight to the thing's chest, right on the 'Z'. The thing exploded into clay pieces and disappeared. She froze for a moment and tried to process what had just happened. But the feeling passed as she turned back to the first creature and delivered another vicious punch to the creature's chest, watching it explode into clay like the other one had. When it disappeared, she stared at the ground.

"What the hell is going on today?"

Right after she asked the question, Kiera was engulfed in a bright red flash of light and disappeared. Gavin rushed outside and stood where Kiera had been moments before.-

-Kiera surveyed her sudden new surroundings. The place she was in was like the set of some weird science fiction movie. A robot stood in front of her playing with some buttons and she was flanked on either side by four people she had never seen before. Above them she saw the disembodied head of an old man with no hair.

When Kiera tried to speak, she couldn't find the words. Nothing she was seeing made any damn sense.

Another woman, dressed in black and with skin the colour of caramel, stepped toward the disembodied head. She looked to Kiera like someone of Arabic origin.

"What the hell is this?" she asked.

A third woman, shorter than both of them, stepped up beside the woman in black. She had immaculate, golden blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She was the very picture of perfection. But Kiera disliked her right away from the cocky smirk on her face.

"You got any idea how much money I could have had?"

Kiera shook her head and stared up at the old man's head.

"I don't believe it," said a long haired man. "This place is impossible. We're years away from any technology like it. And is that a... robot? A goddamn robot?"

"Who the hell are you people? Explain yourselves, damn it!" said the final person, a man wearing a green suit.

"Peace," said the tired voice of the old man. "There is no cause for alarm."

"Yes there damn well is," said the blonde woman. "What the shit have you done to us? How did we get here?"

"There is no time to explain how," the old man said. "There is only time to explain why. You have no doubt seen the creatures attacking the city of... Alpha, what is that place called again?"

"It's called Parksville, Zordon."

"The robot even talks?" the long-haired man asked. "What a time to be alive."

"Really? I thought it was called Angel something," Zordon said.

"Zordon! There's no time to argue about this."

"You're right," Zordon said. "You have all been brought here for a reason. The creatures you encountered are called putties. Turn around and face the viewing globe behind you."

They did as Zordon asked watched a glass globe come to life. It showed them images of the chaos the putties were causing in Parksville.

"Remarkable," said the long-haired man.

"They are controlled by someone named Lord Zedd. He has returned to Earth with the end goal of global domination."

"This is unreal," Kiera finally said.

"Tell me about it," said the woman in black.

"Believe me, I'm right there with you," said the man in the green suit.

The glass globe went dark again and they turned around to face the old man's head, who the robot had called Zordon.

"This world's defenses will not be enough to repel Lord Zedd's invasions," Zordon said. "That is where you come in."

"Sorry, what?" the blonde woman asked. "We're not soldiers."

"No. You are far greater than that. You are Rangers. Power Rangers. You are the last line of defense for this world. When the planet is threatened, you will be called upon to save it from evil."

"But why us?" asked the long-haired man.

"You have been deemed worthy of the powers I am to grant you. An object should now be in your hands."

They all looked down to the strange objects they were now holding.. Each one had a different symbol. The devices were about the size of a cell phone.

"What the hell is this thing?" the woman in black asked.

"These are your power morphers," Zordon said. "Holding them in your hand and calling upon the soul of your power, you will be granted powers beyond which any mortal being on the planet can comprehend. In that moment, you will become the Power Rangers."

"What kind of dumb fucking name is Power Rangers?" asked the blonde woman.

"It is what you are. Now, will you accept your duty?"

"Duty? I don't think so, buddy," the man in the green suit said, stepping forward and placing the device on the console next to Alpha. "You put this on us, not the other way around. You don't get to decide what we get to do."

"That is why I asked the question. But if you are content with allowing this world to suffer than so be it."

The long-haired man grabbed the other man's arm and pulled him forward.

"Somebody's got to do something," he said. "It's obvious the cops aren't going to cut it. I'm not even sure the army has the tech to deal with that bloody spaceship in the sky. You can see where we are. Why would you walk away from a chance like this? We can do something to help people."

The man in the suit pulled his arm away from the long-haired man.

"Fuck you. I don't like being used. This is bullshit and you know it."

"We might not have asked for this but neither did we ask for those fucking things to come down here and shit on everything. You'd best man up and do the right thing."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make you."

The man in green laughed.

"Really? You think you can make me, poindexter? Why don't you just try?"

"Why don't you shut your goddamn mouth and use that fight in you on those things out there?"

"Well said, Arthur," Zordon said. "And before you say it, yes. I know your names. All of you. Arthur, the wisely spoken one, you are the Blue Ranger. Your Soul Beast is the Owl, for your great and powerful wisdom."

The blonde woman shrugged and smirked. Kiera was liking her less and less.

"Sounds like fun to me," she said. "What do I get?"

"Lara," Zordon said. "You are the Yellow Ranger. Your Soul Beast is the Lion, proud and graceful. You hold the intellect and tenacity of the lion within your very soul."

Lara's smirk grew to a cocky grin.

"Always knew it," she said.

The man in green stepped forward and picked up his device again.

"Fine," he said. "But just to show this dickhead what I can do." He glared at Arthur.

"Cal. You are the Green Ranger. Your Soul Beast is the Raven, clever and cunning. Your silver tongue embodies the soul of the Raven."

"God damn it," Cal said. "Of course I get the shitty one."

The woman in black stepped forward.

"Is it too late to back out of this?" she asked.

"Do you wish to leave?" Zordon asked.

She looked around the room let out a long breath through her nose.

"I don't think I have any choice but to stay," she said.

"Very well, Ayla. You are the Black Ranger. Your Soul Beast is the Wolf, ferocious and loyal. You embody the lone black Wolf with your ferocity and strength."

"And finally," Zordon continued. "You will meet your leader."

"She's the leader?" Lara asked. "Doesn't seem like much of a leader to me."

Kiera turned her head and glared at Lara.

"You want to see a fucking leader, short stack?"

Lara's laugh was twisted and bordered on the insane.

"Go on then, sweetie. Let's see what you've got."

"Enough, Rangers," Zordon said. "Fighting amongst yourselves will solve nothing. You must work as a team and Kiera, the Red Ranger, you will be the leader of the team. Your Soul Beast is the Bull, for your massive strength and steadfast toughness."

They each stepped up beside Alpha.

"When the time comes, invoke the power of your Soul Beast. Then you shall be granted the powers and you will morph into a being of great power. Hold the power morpher in your hand. Do it now so that I may send you into battle," Zordon said.

As the newly proclaimed leader, Kiera stepped forward and decided to go first.

"How do I do it?" she asked.

"Just say Bull Soul Beast with the morpher held out in front of you. And say it with force so the soul may hear your call."

Kiera knew she would feel silly doing it but, if those things came for Gavin again, she had to protect him. Any feelings of silliness would be worth keeping him from harm.

She held the device out in front of her and drew in a breath.

"Bull Soul Beast!"

In an instant, Kiera felt power surge within her and something around her began to change. She was soon wearing a suit like that of a superhero and a shielded helmet appeared on her head.

The suit was bright red and fit like it was made for her. The gloves and boots were accented in gold and black with only trace elements of red. Her chest was adorned with a black and gold stripe and a crest sat in the middle. It depicted a charging bull, coloured red. Her helmet had the shape of a raging bull at its top and a black visor covered her eyes, though she still saw with clarity. A hardened mouthpiece coloured gold completed the helmet.

"Looking good there, sweetie," Lara said. "My turn. Lion Soul Beast!"

Lara changed then into a similar suit, though hers was yellow. Her gloves and boots were accented in black and silver and her chest had a similar stripe to Kiera's, only it was black and silver instead. In the centre of the chest was a crest with a roaring female lion. Her helmet looked like the head of a female lion at its top and had the same straight, black visor and gold mouthpiece.

"But I look better," Lara added.

Cal sighed.

"Let's get this shit over with," he said. "Raven Soul Beast!"

He morphed as well, into a full green suit. His gloves and boots were accented in black and gold, like Kiera. Also like Kiera, his chest stripe was black and gold. His crest depicted a raven in flight. His helmet was shaped like that of a raven's head and was complete with visor and mouthpiece as well.

Ayla looked at the three morphed rangers.

"Let's go then," she said. "Wolf Soul Beast!"

Her suit was full black, except for the gloves and boots which were accented in silver and gold, as was the stripe on her chest. The crest was a howling wolf and her helmet seemed to snarl with the wolf's head on top. The visor and mouthpiece also completed Ayla's helmet.

Arthur stepped forward, beaming with pride. He held his morpher out in front of him.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said. "Owl Soul Beast!"

Arthur morphed into his blue suit, with black and gold accented gloves and boots. The stripe on his chest was also black and gold and the crest was and owl with its wings spread wide. His helmet was also an owl at the top and he, like the others, had the black visor and gold mouthpiece.

"Go now, Rangers," Zordon said. "The time for action is now. Good luck and may the power be with you. Always."

"Sure. Whatever, old man," Lara said as the five of them were transported away in multicoloured light.

Once they were gone, Alpha looked up at Zordon.

"They're not teenagers," Alpha said.

Zordon sighed.

"Yes. But they are still brimming with attitude. You always make strange choices, Alpha. And yet I have confidence that this team will succeed."-

-With the city in chaos, there was no one who could beat back the Putty forces. The police were overwhelmed trying to handle them and they were destroying everything they could in their wake.

A dark figure was watching the scene unfold from above. A red beam of light shone from his visor dissipated and he let out a low, growling chuckle.

"This is what I live for," he said. "And nothing stands in my way now."

An even deeper, growling voice spoke to him from the shadows.

"You know how these things go, my lord. It will not be this easy for long."

The figure allowed his massive throne to spin around and face the one who had spoken to him. The dark figure was a large man devoid of skin. All of his muscle matter was covered over by a metallic skeleton but his head gave him a far more intimidating appearance. His eyes were nothing but a solid, red visor and a metal cage covered where his mouth would be. His expression was frozen in a permanent scowl. A piece of metal protruded from the middle of his forehead and a letter 'Z' sat at its top. A snake wound its way around his body and he grabbed it when he stood from the throne. The snake became a large, metal staff with a 'Z' at its top.

"Are you suggesting the Power Rangers will return, Goldar?"

Goldar's grip tightened on his sword as Lord Zedd stood from his throne.

"It's not that you couldn't handle them, my lord. But I would advise that you proceed with caution."

Lord Zedd growled at his minion and turned away from him. He walked over to the balcony of his starship, with a perfect view of the ground below.

"Your advice is appreciated, Goldar. But things are well in..."

As Lord Zedd peered down at the Earth below, he stopped speaking. A red aura began to glow around him and he pounded his fist on the railing of the balcony.

"Is it the Power Rangers, my lord?"

Lord Zedd said nothing. He just seethed as he saw a sight he dreaded all along.-

-With the city still in chaos, the Putties' attention was drawn to the middle of an intersection in the street. Five coloured flashed of light came down from the sky and a team of heroes appeared in their midst. Each one of the heroes braced themselves as a swarm of putties surrounded them in an instant.

"Odds aren't with us," Arthur said.

"Sure they are," Lara said. "You ever felt stronger than this before?"

"Point taken," Arthur said.

"Stick together," Kiera said, trying her best to be the leader as she was supposed to be. "Don't get split up. We take them as a group. Don't let them get behind you and watch each other's backs."

Lara scoffed.

"I'm not waiting for you."

The Yellow Ranger charged into a group of putties and moved like lightning. One high kick and solid punch later and two of the putties disappeared into clay pieces.

"God damn it," Kiera said. "Get after her, one of you. The rest of you, pick your targets."

Cal took it upon himself to jump in beside Lara and level another two putties with heavy punches. The two backed up into each other and were surrounded again, cut off from the rest of the group.

"You're a moron," the Green Ranger said.

"I don't take orders," Lara said. "And I don't need your help."

"Well, you've got it now. I'll watch your back, even if you don't fucking deserve it."

"Marvellous," Lara said. "And while you're doing that, I'll be doing all the work. Great fucking help there."

"Just shut up and fight, asshole."

The circle of putties closed on them and the two of them started the fight.

Kiera led the other two into a larger group of putties. Two of them ran at her. The Red Ranger was quick to pick one up off its feet and slam it to the ground, punching it in the chest. As soon as she did that, the second had no time to react as Kiera delivered another heavy blow to its chest. Both putties disappeared into clay pieces.

Ayla followed Kiera and took three of them, jumping back and forth between them. None of the putties had any time to hit the Black Ranger as she leapt in and out at them. Two punches and a kick later saw the putties turn to nothing.

Arthur started grappling with two of them but his lack of any actual training started to show itself. He was pushed back by both putties and stumbled a bit. He kept his balance and punched one in the chest as it reached him but the Blue Ranger spent too much time marvelling at his minor victory as the second putty reached him and tackled him to the ground. He tried grappling with it but he wasn't faring very well. To his relief, he saw Kiera looming over them and she pulled the putty off of him. She slammed it to the ground and punched it in the chest. She reached down to Arthur and pulled him to his feet.

"Stick with me," she said. "And be careful."

"Right," Arthur said.

The two of them rushed over to Ayla to begin helping her fight off another group of putties.

Cal and Lara, meanwhile, dispatched their group of putties with ease. Cal felt that he hardly had to do anything at all. Lara's speed was incredible and, no matter what the putties tried, they couldn't touch her. As impressive as Kiera had been in the glimpses he had caught of her, Cal felt that Lara might just be the best fighter amongst them.

This fact only became more apparent as two of them rushed at her from either side. She laughed at the sight.

"Oh, please. Give me a challenge already, you shambly fucks," she said.

He barely even saw her move as the two putties were gone in an instant. She turned to face him and, even with her face hidden behind the helmet, Cal knew that cocky smirk would spread across her face.

"You're staring, little shit."

The name irked Cal. He hated when people made fun of his height.

"Get in there and help the others, you heel," Cal said.

Lara glanced to her right and saw the rest of the putties. The other three were surrounded on all sides. They were faring well but their progress was slow. Lara turned back to Cal and he could almost feel the twisted smile he had seen inside with Zordon.

"Watch this," she said.

Lara charged into the middle of the group and took down two putties before Cal even got there.

Once Cal jumped into the fray, all five Rangers were now battling the putties and they began dropping like flies. After a short while, most of the putties had fallen. Before they could finish the rest of them off, they disappeared and the streets were cleared.

The panic in the streets disspated and everything went silent for a few moments. The five Rangers stood together and took a look around at the damage the putties had done to the city. The place was trashed but it wasn't anything that couldn't be cleaned up with a few hours of work. The Power Rangers had showed up at the right time.

"Is that it then?" Lara asked.

Kiera noticed several people stepping out into the street. They were gawking at the five of them and seemed afraid to approach. Kiera turned her head to answer Lara.

"Looks like it," she said.

"So what happens now?" Ayla asked.

"Wish I knew," Kiera replied.-

-"Damn those Rangers!" Lord Zedd boomed. He whirled around to face Goldar. "Get down there and get rid of them!"

"You're sending me, my lord?"

"Of course I'm sending you! What other idiot could I send to deal with those damned Power Rangers?"

"Very well, my lord. I am ready to face them."

"Then be ready to grow larger, Goldar! I'm not playing around this time!"

"Yes, my lord."

Lord Zedd raised his staff and Goldar disappeared in a flash of white lightning. He watched the scene below to make sure he had done it right.

The Rangers were startled by the sound of thunder from somewhere behind them. The figure of a large, humanoid creature greeted them from the road as they turned around.

"It's been a long time, Power Rangers! The time to do battle has come once again!"

Lara laughed at the creature.

"The fuck are you supposed to be?"

What she saw was a strange sort of wolfman with thick, bat-like wings. He was covered in a thick, golden armour and held a heavy longsword in his right hand.

"You would dare laugh at the might of Goldar? Just you wait, Yellow Ranger!"

Lord Zedd from above raised his staff again and crackles of lightning filled the sky. As he did, Goldar shouted to the sky and raised his sword and he started getting bigger before their very eyes. Soon he was as tall as the skyscrapers that surrounded them.

"Who's laughing now?" he said as he glowered down at them.

"Well, shit," Lara said. "Didn't see that one coming."

"How the fuck are we supposed to deal with this?" Cal asked.

"I sure hope that giant head as a goddamn plan," Ayla added.

"Don't lose focus," Kiera said. "Keep your composure. We've got to have a contingency of some sort."

Right after Kiera spoke, the Rangers disappeared into flashes of light again and they were back within Zordon's command centre. They stepped forward and removed their helmets and waited for Zordon to speak.

"The time has come," he said. "Alpha, show the Rangers their Zords."

Lara chuckled.

"Named them after yourself, did you?"

Zordon ignored her comment and directed their attention to the viewing globe.

"Lara, the Yellow Ranger, you control the Lion Zord. Its strength and pride will aid you in the battle ahead."

A huge, robotic lion appeared in the viewing globe. It was a bright yellow beast with huge jaws and powerful legs, gliding along with effortless bounds at a full run. Lara's lion symbol adorned its chest.

"Ayla, the Black Ranger, you control the Wolf Zord. Use its ferocity wisely."

The image changed to that of a huge, robotic wolf, coloured black. Its form snarled and the beast's eyes glowed a deep, angry red. It, too, carried the same symbol on its chest as Ayla.

"Arthur, the Blue Ranger, you control the Owl Zord. Its wisdom will guide you through any battle."

The image changed again and a massive, robotic owl swooped into view. It was coloured blue, for the most part, with a few black parts on its body. Its eyes were bright yellow and intelligent and it carried Arthur's owl symbol on its chest.

"Cal, the Green Ranger, you control the Raven Zord. Its cunning and intellect will prove vital in the fight to come."

Another image change revealed the huge, cawing raven soaring across a dark, starry sky. Its body was solid green and it stared forward with bright red eyes, like the Wolf Zord. The raven symbol on Cal's chest was also on its chest.

"And finally, Kiera, the Red Ranger. You control the Bull Zord. Its rage is terrible so be cautious but its strength in battle is unmatched."

The image changed once more to show a massive bull. Its rage seemed impossible to contain as it charged forward with glistening, white horns. It's black eyes raged and it made a terrible sound. The rest of its body was red with the exception of the golden coloured crest of the bull on its chest.

They turned back to Zordon when the image darkened.

"How do we, uh, use these things?"Arthur asked.

"Just call upon them using their names. They will always heed your call. And should their power not be enough, your Zords can combine to form the Soul Beast Megazord. Once you do that, you can call upon the final power of the Sword of Beasts to aid you even further. But this must be done by you, Kiera."

"And that's it?"

"Yes. Call upon your Zords when I send you back. Go forth, Rangers. And may the power be with you."

"You gonna say that every time, big head?" Lara asked.

Zordon didn't answer her and the five of them disappeared again as they palced their helmets back on.

"I don't think I like her, Alpha," Zordon said with a sigh.

"I know what you mean, Zordon."

"Still, she is growing on me."-

-The five Rangers appeared in the intersection they had just left and Kiera looked to the sky where Goldar was tromping through the city.

"Let's do this, then" she said. "Bull Zord!"

The huge, red beast charged into view and Kiera found herself being transported toward it. She was sitting in front of a kind of control panel in mere moments.

"Woah," she said. "This is some crazy shit."

Lara looked up at the huge bull.

"Time for some fun," she said. "Lion Zord!"

The great yellow beast leapt down from above and Lara was soon inside the thing, behind a contol panel like Kiera.

Ayla didn't waste time joining the fray.

"Wolf Zord!"

The lone, black beast howled as it heeded its master's call and jumped to Ayla, who was now also transported to the contol panel.

"Shit," Cal said. "And to think, ours fly. This might be awesome. Raven Zord!"

A loud, screeching caw greeted Cal and the beat of great, green wings thrust a heavy breeze down on them. He, too was, transported to a control panel.

"Last again," Arthur said. "Owl Zord!"

The screeching, blue beast swooped down to him and he was behind the controls in no time. The five Zords now stood on equal footing with Goldar.

"All right," Kiera said. "Can the rest of you hear me?"

"Coming through nice and loud, fearless leader," Lara said.

"I hear you," Ayla said.

"Me too," Cal added.

"Got ya, Captain," Arthur said, saluting to the Bull Zord.

"Stick together this time. I mean it, Lara. We watch each other's backs and surround him. All right?"

Every member of her team agreed but one voice was missing. She looked out the front of her Zord and saw the yellow lion charging straight for Goldar.

"For fuck's sake!" she said. "Get after her!"

Kiera didn't know how she would contol the beast but as she looked down at the control panel, all manner of things came into her head. She knew what to do out of instinct. It was as though the Bull and her were made for each other.

With a few simple commands the Bull lunged forward and threw itself at Goldar, who was already battling the lion.

Goldar's sword created sparks against the lion's right haunch and caused it to stumble backward.

"You're bold, Yellow Ranger!" Goldar said. "But you've separated yourself from your friends."

"Don't need 'em. You've never fought someone like me before."

Lara's lion leapt on Goldar and knocked him to the ground, quaking the ground beneath them. Kiera felt the tremor as her Bull charged in.

"Damn it, Lara! You'll level the whole goddamn city if you're not careful!"

"At least I'm getting the job done, fearless leader," Lara said.

Kiera growled as she watched Goldar throw the lion off him and stand back up in a split second. But before he could strike out at the lion again, the bull's horns caught him in the chest and sent him stumbling backward.

"Ah, the Red Ranger has arrived," Goldar said. "Perfect. More for me!"

His sword struck the bull in the side of the head and caused it to lurch to one side. In that moment, Kiera lost control of the bull and it started kicking its back legs out violently.

"Woah!" she said. "Settle down! Easy now!"

The bull continued to rage and stamped the ground, shaking the earth even more.

"Shit! Zordon wasn't kidding about this thing's rage."

"Get it under control then. Don't go turning into a hypocrite," Lara said.

Kiera did everything she could to calm the bull but nothing would work. Finally, she shouted at it in frustration.

"Bull, stop!"

The bull stopped its raging and Kiera had regained control.

"About time," Lara said.

By then the other three Rangers had reached them but even as they surrounded him they couldn't land a decent hit on Goldar. He was far quicker than any of them had been expecting. Not even Lara could do anything to him.

"We're gonna need do that Megazord thing," Cal said.

"He's right," Arthur added. "We're not touching him."

"I'm with you there," Ayla said.

"Only if fearless leader says so, though, right?" Lara said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Let's do it, then. Megazord?"

Kiera's tone was uncertain and she realized that she didn't know what to say.

"Shit, um, Soul Beast Megazord!"

That seemed to do something as all five Zords began to change shape. The Bull's legs folded underneath it and the head folded down to reveal a robotic head underneath. The Bull's head formed its chest. The Lion folded its form up and became the Megazord's left leg. The Wolf did much the same as the Lion and became the right leg. The Owl came in from behind the Bull and folded around the chest to form both of the Megazord's arms. The Raven swooped in and wrapped around the Megazord just below the chest, forming a sort of armour piece and belt. The robot's eyes sprang to life and glowed a bright orange and it held its fists up to Goldar.

The five of them came together onto one control panel. Kiera stood in the middle, flanked on either side by Lara and Ayla. Cal and Arthur sat at the very edges of either side.

"Let's get that sword and give it right back to this guy," Kiera said, turning to face Lara.

"That's up to you, fearless leader. Remember?"

"Right," she said. "Um, Sword of Beasts?"

As the Megazord stood there, nothing happened. Goldar laughed and moved in to strike them down.

"Better try something else there, genius," Lara said.

"Damn it! Um, uh, give us the Sword of Beasts!"

Bright lightning cracked the sky and dark clouds formed above them. They split apart as a massive, silver sword came down from the sky and stuck in the ground in front of them. They picked it up and parried Goldar's attack just as he moved in.

"Close call," Cal said.

"At least I know what to do now," Kiera said. "Let's waste this shitheel."

"And this time, none of us have the chance to charge in like a moron. Right, moron?" Cal asked, turning to Lara.

"You just wish you were as good as me," Lara shot back.

"Hey! Focus! There's a fucking swordfight happening here," Arthur said.

"Yeah, let's get this shit over with," Ayla added.

"Thanks. Both of you. Let's get him," Kiera said.

With all of them at the controls, the Megazord was much faster than Goldar. Soon the wolfman with wings was overwhelmed by the fury of the Megazord's attacks. He could barely stay on his feet as he was hammered by the Sword of Beasts time and again. After falling one final time, Goldar could only scramble to one knee, supporting his weight with his sword.

"You haven't seen the last of me! I will return!"

Goldar disappeared just when the Megazord was about to cut him down. They all sat inside in total silence. Everything around them went deathly quiet. They waited for something else to happen but nothing did. Goldar didn't come back. The putties didn't come back. There was just nothing but onlookers on the ground staring up at the Megazord's mighty form.

"Did... did we do it?" Arthur asked.

"I guess," Kiera replied.

"But we didn't kill him," Lara said. "Seems a shame to me."

"We still beat him back," Ayla said. "That's not nothing."

"We did put a pretty good hurtin' on him," Cal said. "I don't think he'll be back anytime soon."

"Here's hoping," Kiera said. "At least we'll know what to do when that happens."

They fell silent again and reflected on everything that had happened.-

-Above them, meanwhile, Lord Zedd was fuming when Goldar returned with news of his failure.

"Explain to me again how you fled from the battle, Goldar! Explain your cowardice to me, you fool!"

"I had no choice, my lord. I would have been no use to you dead. It was a tactical retreat. I must recover my strength, my lord."

Lord Zedd growled and struck Goldar with his staff, causing him to stumble to the ground. He did not get back up, holding his hands up to shield his face.

"I will not fail you next time, my lord!"

"See to it that you don't or I shall dispose of you myself."

Lord Zedd turned back to the balcony and glared down at the Earth as his starship retreated to the moon's orbit.

"Those damned Power Rangers will not stop me a second time, Goldar. I will not have it!"-

-The Rangers were back to normal and de-morphed back in the command centre, standing before Zordon.

"You have done well here today, Rangers. You will make a great team yet."

Kiera shrugged.

"I can only hope so."

"As can I, Kiera. But before I send you all home, there are three rules you must be told and abide by for you to continue to serve the world as Power Rangers."

"Of course. There's always rules," Lara said.

"First, never use your powers for personal gain. You will be Power Ranger no longer if you abuse the gifts you have been given."

"Fuck," Lara said. "Why'd you have to make that the first one?"

"Second," Zordon continued, "Never escalate a battle unless you are forced. You are guardians, not vigilantes. Your duty is a sacred one and good must be upheld with only the greatest of integrity. And finally, always keep your identity a secret. Tell no one that you are Power Ranger."

Kiera sighed.

"This was a lot to take in, you know."

"Yes. I know. You have led your team admirably. Your team cohesion will only grow as you work together more and more. I am sorry for placing this burden on your shoulders but you will make the best team to defend this world. That is why you were chosen as the Power Rangers."

"Not sure I'm ready to do that again," Arthur said. "Besides, I have no training."

"And I have very little," Cal added. "Surely you can find someone else."

"I can train you," Kiera said. "I've done some boxing and judo training. Quite a bit, actually."

"That explains why you throw people and punch so damn much," Lara said. "I know a bit of judo myself. And some capoeria. A bit of jiu-jitsu, too. If you make it worth my while then I could train you, too."

"You want us to pay you?" Cal asked.

"Hey, I've got to get something out of it."

Cal growled under his breath but he remembered how Lara had fought off the putties.

"Fine. I'll pay you what I can, as long as I get results."

Lara nodded and smirked at Cal, who growled again.

"Will you train me, Kiera?" Arthur asked.

"Sure. I'm not exactly an expert but I come pretty damn close. It'd help for you to know how to throw a punch. And you don't have to pay me."

"Aww. Aren't you just the perfect sweetheart," Lara said.

Kiera glared at Lara.

"Don't try my patience. You've already been stupid enough for one day. You keep up with that shit and you'll find yourself on the fucking ground."

"Try me," Lara said, her smirk widening to her twisted grin.

"You're part of this team now, right?" Kiera asked, gritting her teeth.

"The best part. What's your point?"

"You're a selfish whore," Kiera said. "And there's no place on this team for selfish whores."

"You kicking me out, fearless leader?"

"No. You're too valuable. But what I am doing is telling you to straighten yourself up or I'll fucking make you."

Lara's smile widened even further.

"How about you make me straighten out right now, sweetie?"

Kiera swore under her breath. Lara laughed.

"I think I like you, fearless leader. So much fight in you. I love that."

"Just shut your mouth and do your damn job," Kiera said.

Lara gave Kiera a mock salute.

"Sure thing there, fearless leader."

Kiera ignored Lara and walked over to Ayla. They two of them looked each other in the eye.

"You have any problems?" Kiera asked.

"I'm not sure about this whole thing," Ayla said. "But somebody is going to need to fight back if shit like that is going to keep coming down on us. So I'm in."

"And you're good with the whole training thing?"

"Done some arnis training in the Phillippines and a bit of kendo. Tried out judo like the two of you as well. I'm good."

"All right then. Anything else?"

Ayla shook her head.

"You and I should get along just fine. As for her," Ayla said, looking to Lara. "Hope we can get that problem sorted out."

"I do love to leave an impression," Lara said.

Kiera ignored her again and faced Zordon.

"I'd say we're all in then," she said.

"Good. I shall return you to your homes but, before you go, Alpha will give you watches that will act as communicators should I have need to contact you."

Alpha handed them each a watch of their corresponding colour and they all affixed them to their wrists. They turned back to Zordon.

"Thank you for your work today, Rangers. Go now and return to your lives. But always be ready to heed the call to action. And may the-"

"Don't say it again, old man," Lara said.

Zordon cleared his throat.

"May the power be with you. Always," he finished with a sigh, sounding more tired than he had before.

The five Rangers disappeared again and Alpha looked up at Zordon when they were gone.

"They did well," he said.

"Yes, Alpha. But they have a lot to get over if they're going to be the team we need. I worry they may not be able to conquer themselves."

"So do I, Zordon."-

-When Kiera returned home in a red flash of light, Gavin was waiting by the doorstep. He ran outside to her and threw his arms around her waist.

"What happened to you?"

Kiera pulled him away and knelt down next to him. She looked into his eyes and rubbed his head.

"Just got pulled away for an emergency. Nothing to worry about now, though. Everything is fine."

"But I saw you disppear like you were abducted by aliens or something."

"Come on, Gavin. You must have been seeing things. I left in the truck. I had to take care of an emergency."

"What emergency? I heard all these loud sounds coming from the city and the ground was shaking and I thought you might get hurt."

"Well I didn't. You remember Griff, right?"

"He's that nice, big guy."

"That's right. Well, he had to rush his father to the hospital and I helped him get there and make sure he was okay. That's all."

"But what about all that shaking? And those sounds?"

"There was an earthquake," Kiera said. "That's all. Just a bit of damage to the city but nothing major. Everything's fine, Gavin."

Gavin looked into Kiera's eyes.

"But I saw you disappear. There was even this red light."

"That wasn't anything but your imagination, Gavin. All right? Let's go inside. I'm hungry. How about you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Gavin still wasn't satisfied with Kiera's answers but it became obvious to him that she wouldn't say anything more. So he followed inside the farmhouse and decided to let it go for the time being.


	2. Training with Fire and Ice

Chapter 2: Training with Fire and Ice

"Ow! Why do you have to keep hitting me?"

Kiera stood up straight and rolled her eyes. She stepped toward Arthur and pulled him toward her.

"Quit your whining and learn to take a hit," she said. "Besides, that helmet softens the hit. And I'm not even hitting you hard."

"Still, how many times do you have to hit me?"

Kiera removed one of her padded gloves and then her sparring helmet. She ran a hand through her hair and then replaced the helmet and glove. She took a look around at the empty, padded sparring room and took in a sharp breath. She then crouched in a ready stance.

"Let's try to change it up, then," she said. "Hit me."

"I've already tried that."

"Just do it."

Arthur wound up his right hand and tried to hit Kiera in the side of the head. Kiera deflected his arm with her own and hit Arthur in the side of the head with a soft tap. He jumped back and reached up to his head.

"Gah! Stop it!"

"Do it again," Kiera said. "Come on."

Arthur wound up his punch and the same thing happened again. A third try yielded the same results again. Then Arthur decided to try swinging with his left hand so he wound up and aimed for Kiera's protected forehead. She deflected him again and tapped him in the side of the head once more. Arthur tripped over himself backing away from her and stumbled a bit.

"What did you learn?" Kiera asked.

"What?"

"I said, what did you learn?"

Arthur hesitated to answer the question, not certain he had learned anything.

"I learned how to get punched about 700 times."

"Please. I haven't thrown a real punch one time."

"Yeah but I haven't learned anything else except how to to get hit," Arthur said.

Kiera let out a short breath.

"All right. Let me re-phrase the question. How did I keep blocking you?"

Arthur shrugged.

"Because you're superhuman?"

"Don't be an idiot," Kiera replied. "You telegraphed."

"I what?"

Kiera stood in a ready stance and demonstrated what Arthur had been doing.

"You keep winding up your punches from back here. You're giving me so much more time to react and I know where you're coming from."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

Kiera took a step back and then demonstrated a real punch, stopping a few inches from Arthur's face.

"You don't need the wind-up," she said. "Just a simple movement like this."

She punched the air again.

"It doesn't take that much effort to throw a proper punch."

"For you, maybe," Arthur said.

"No. You've got the strength. You can throw a good punch without exerting yourself all that much. Just a simple movement like this."

She demonstrated a third time.

"It's a lot harder to tell where a punch is coming from that way. It's not impossible but knowing how to throw a proper punch can keep your opponent guessing. That's a big part of the battle right there. Use your mind before you can use your body. And I know you've got the smarts."

"Okay..."

"Now, you can use the wind-up," Kiera continued. She demonstrated and wound up a punch with her right hand. "But that's usually only good for a feint. And you have to be quick." She threw a punch with her left hand a few inches from Arthur's face. "To land a hit."

"That seems like a lot to keep track of."

"The idea is to practice until it's second nature. You should be able to act and react on instinct alone. You don't want to be thinking too much while you're in the fight."

"But I thought you said to use your mind."

"Before you can use your body, yes. And where do you think the right instincts come from? Conquer the mind and the body will follow. Once it becomes second nature, that's when you can start using your mind to your advantage and think tactics and strategy. And I'd bet you can do that, nerdlinger."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that? I don't wear glasses. I'm not even small and scrawny. Is it just because I know things?"

Kiera shrugged.

"Well, that, and you keep telling Alpha how to fix that console. Only a nerd could figure out how to work that thing so fast."

"Damn it," he said. "It's not even that hard. All you need to do is pay attention and observe things. Why is that so hard for people to do?"

Kiera shrugged.

"Well, I won't argue with you there. Now, let's focus. Try to hit me again.'

Kiera noticed the deep focus in Arthur's eyes when he took a swing at her again. This punch came much faster. She still leaned back and avoided it but she didn't counter this time.

"That's better. Do it again."

He threw a left and Kiera ducked aside but Arthur was ready with a quick right and Kiera had to be fast to block him. She stepped back and smiled at him.

"You're learning," she said. "That was awesome."

"I'm just trying to focus," he said. "It's hard."

"Yes, it will be for awhile. But good discipline is important, Arthur. Perhaps more important than anything."

"I'm getting that."

"All right," Kiera said. "Now, about your stance."

"What's wrong with how I stand?"

"Try to hit me again and I'll show you."

Kiera kept herself ready for Arthur's movement. She didn't even give him a chance to react as she kicked his feet out from under him and forced him to the mat in an instant. Arthur grunted as he fell. Kiera reached down to help him up again. He took her hand and pulled himself back up.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"Your balance is off," she said. "You have to plant yourself, like this."

Kiera took her low stance, bending at the knee and holding her hands out in front of her.

"I thought we practiced this already," Arthur said.

"Yes, but you haven't kept it up. Keeping balance is important. If you're off balance you're already at a disadvantage. The entire end goal of a fight is to keep your opponent off balance. If you do it by default then you've pretty much lost right there."

Arthur shook his head.

"This is a lot to remember."

"And you can remember it. If you can keep those digits of pi straightforward then you can remember how to keep your balance and throw a punch. There will be plenty more after that, too. I haven't even really started on the judo part yet."

"Well what have we been doing then?"

"Mostly just boxing," Kiera said. "Come on. Keep your focus. Concentrate. You're the one with the wisdom, aren't you? Use it."

Arthur readied himself and, taking Kiera's advice, threw another punch.-

-Cal hit the mat with a thud and let out a half-grunt, half wheeze as he hit the ground. He rolled over and picked himself up again.

"You gonna spend the whole time on the ground?"

Cal stood up and his eyes were blazing.

"Somebody keeps fucking putting me there."

Lara's cocky smirk only served to make him angrier.

"Well then start doing something about it," she said.

Cal took a swing at Lara and she stepped aside like nothing and grabbed his arm. She tripped him and kept hold of his arm as he fell to the ground. She pinned him there for a few seconds before stepping off of him and letting him get back up again.

"This is ridiculous," Cal said.

"I'll say. You haven't hit me once. You sure you're a boxer?"

"I've taken some lessons," Cal said. "I never said I was a boxer."

"Same thing," Lara said.

"It really isn't."

"Oh yeah? Care to make your point further?"

Cal gritted his teeth and managed to keep his temper this time.

"How is making me angry doing anything, Lara?"

Lara kept the cocky smirk on her face.

"It's what keeps you going."

"What?"

"Anger is what keeps you going. Anger gets you back up when you ought to stay down. To be in a fight, you need to have some anger in you. The point is to control it. It does not control you. You take a hit, you get angry, and you hit them harder. Anger keeps you in the fight and, as long you don't let it blind you, it's what helps you win."

Cal furrowed his brow.

"That almost sounded smart," he said. "You feeling okay?"

Lara chuckled and lunged for Cal. She grappled with him and, despite her smaller size, she had the leverage advantage right away. Lara knocked Cal to the ground again and delivered a swift punch to his chest.

"Jeez," Cal said. "I'm not one of those putties." He rolled over and stood up again. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know. It was just funny."

Cal let out a chuckle in frustration.

"You're still trying to piss me off? What happened to all your talk of speed and leverage and strength?"

"Those are all important," Lara said. "But you have to be angry to win a fight. And I know you've got the anger in you. All you need to do is control it and use it to your advantage, you pint-sized little shit."

Cal smirked right back at Lara.

"You're pushing it," he said. "And besides, you never seem angry while you're fighting. You seem to enjoy it. I've even heard you say it's fun."

"Oh, it is," Lara said. "But don't think for a second this winning smile is just for show. My face might dazzle the average onlooker but if you looked closer I'm sure you'd see it there."

"The anger?"

"Yes. It's there in spades, little shit."

Cal shook his head.

"How is it you're on our side? You're an asshole. We're supposed to be the good guys over here."

Lara's laugh was wicked and menacing.

"You're really buying into this whole goodness and wholesome bullshit? You want to get shit done? You've got to be mean. That's just the way the world is."

"I don't buy that."

Lara laughed again.

"Well then buy this, raven boy."

Lara grappled with him again and hammered him into the mat, punching him in the chest again. Cal gasped and took in several deep breaths to get his second wind. It took him a fair while to get back up again.

"You're asking for it," Cal said.

"Go on then, greenie. Let's go."


	3. The Lion Roars

Chapter 3: The Lion Roars

She leaned against the wall and smoked a thin cigar while she waited. Kiera had not yet arrived and Lara took the time to relax just outside a convenience store. She ogled her bright yellow motorcycle though dark sunglasses, smiling at the sight of it. Feeling the heat on her leather jacket, Lara rolled up the sleeves and took in a drag from her cigar.

The convenience store sat across a parking lot from a college campus in the heart of the downtown area. Lara's thoughts drifted and she wondered why Kiera had asked her to this place.

A boy and a girl, who both looked to be in their teens, walked past Lara as they left the store and caught her attention for a moment. They started walking back toward the campus, hand in hand, and Lara glanced at them out the top of her sunglasses. They're a cute couple, she thought. That would have been it if she hadn't seen five large men walking toward them from the campus itself.

They stood in front of the young couple and stopped them in their tracks. Lara heard them say something but she didn't care enough to listen any closer. Two of the larger men started shoving the boy and a third grabbed the girl and wrapped his arms around her. The other two circled around the boy and one of them shoved him to the ground. They both cried for help, or at least Lara thought so, and she smiled to herself as she looked upon the scene through the top of her sunglasses.

A quick study of the five men gave her an idea that they were in their early twenties. They were quite large and looked athletic but she didn't care beyond that. It didn't matter how big they were.

Taking one last drag of her cigar, she tossed it away and fished around in her pocket. She pulled out a pack of gum and put a piece in her mouth. She chewed it a few times and stood up straight. One of the large men kicked the smaller boy on the ground. The girl started crying. Lara's smile only got wider.

She stood straight from the wall and took an easy stride toward the group. She made no effort to walk around them. As she walked past the man she had seen kick the boy, she leaned into him with her shoulder and took a quick stride forward, bumping him quite hard. He turned to look at her as she stopped. Their eyes met.

"The fuck is your problem, bitch?"

Lara's smile had softened a bit to her cocky grin. The rest of the group stopped and all eyes went to Lara.

"Oh, beg your pardon," Lara said, still chewing her gum. "Must have been lookin' someplace else."

Another of the large men stepped in front of her.

"You got no business here," he said. "Time to go, bitch."

Lara shrugged and looked around at every man. There were five of them, like she thought. No problem.

"Bitch? My, aren't you just the sweet talker."

"Get lost. Now."

Lara chuckled and her smirk became her twisted smile.

"I'll go," she said. "But you've got to do something for me, first."

The man holding the girl spoke to her next.

"You playing hero, bitch?"

Lara let out a heavy, malicious laugh.

"I don't play, boy."

The five men laughed right back.

"You startin' shit?" asked one of them.

"Far as I can see I didn't start a damn thing," Lara said. "Seems you started the shit."

The man she bumped stepped closer to her. Lara's eyes went to the boy on the ground for a moment. He looked at her with wide eyes. Lara nodded to him and held up her hand slightly to try and keep him calm.

"I ain't tellin' you again."

"Here's the thing," Lara said. "You don't want to make me hurt you. You really don't. I want to do it. Believe me, I really do. But all you gotta do is let the girl go and leave that boy alone and everything can be fine and kosher. How's that sound?"

The man in front of her laughed again.

"You are playin' hero," he said.

Lara laughed again. The malice crept into her voice as she smiled sweetly at the man.

"Already told your buddy, sweetheart."

Lara removed her sunglasses and looked him in the eye. She spit her gum out on the ground.

"I don't play."

The man didn't know what hit him as Lara's fist connected with his lower jaw. A few teeth came loose from his mouth and he fell to the ground and hit his head, falling unconscious. She grabbed another of the men and swept out both of his legs. As he hit the ground, she hit him between the eyes and bloodied his nose, leaving him in a daze. A third rushed at her and was tripped as easily as the second, cracking his head hard off the pavement. Lara then stepped to the man holding the girl. He no longer had his arms wrapped around her, instead keeping a tight grip on her waist with one arm. Lara forced herself between them and knocked his arm away. She threw another heavy punch and also swept his legs out from under him, causing him to hit the ground hard. The impact knocked the wind out of him. The last man came at her from behind and received an elbow in the jaw. Lara spun around and landed another punch on him, giving him a bloody nose as well. Another leg sweep and a final punch on the ground kept him down.

With the five men on the ground, Lara walked back to the boy and held her hand out to him. His trembling hand reached up Lara's strong grasp took hold of him. She pulled him to his feet and looked to the girl.

"Not hurt?" Lara asked.

The girl shook her head, still dumbfounded by what she saw.

She looked to the boy and saw the scrapes on his face. He favoured his left side and gripped his ribs with his left hand.

"You take a hit pretty well," Lara said. She pointed to his ribs. "Best to see a doctor about that."

The boy nodded and he couldn't find any words. Lara nodded to them both and turned around. She started walking back toward her bike. She looked to the ground and saw her piece of gum. She shook hear head as she replaced her sunglasses.

"Damn waste of gum," she said.

She turned her head to call back to the boy and girl.

"Best clear out. They won't stay on the ground forever."

As she walked away she heard the girl call to her.

"What's your name?"

Lara stopped and turned around.

"Would it make any difference?"

"Maybe," the girl replied.

"So maybe means no in this case." Lara winked and smiled at her. She turned around and started walking away again.

"Thank you," she heard the boy call.

Lara didn't turn around this time.

"I said clear out. Don't wait around for them to get back up again."

When Lara returned to her bike she stopped dead and stared at the woman who was sitting on it.

"How long you been there?" Lara asked.

Kiera stood from the bike and folded her arms.

"Couple minutes," she said. "Saw that beatdown you gave them."

Kiera nodded toward the five men on the ground.

"Didn't care to help?" Lara asked.

"Only if you didn't have it handled," Kiera said. "Which you did."

Lara smirked again.

"You like what you saw?"

Kiera's expression didn't change.

"You trying to get yourself found out?" Kiera asked.

"What else am I supposed to do, fearless leader? Would you have let them keep pushing that further? What would have happened if I did? Do you really want to think about that?"

Kiera grunted.

"Not saying you were wrong. But, next time, try not to be so obvious about it. Anybody that saw that and the fight we had in that intersection is gonna be able to put two and two together. You remember the rules."

Lara smirked.

"Come on. I didn't break any rules. I didn't escalate, there was no personal gain, and I didn't broadcast who I was to the whole world."

"No, but there aren't a hell of a lot of people who can fight like that. People saw a woman in yellow kicking the shit out of those putties and now they've seen a woman with a yellow bike kick the shit out of five meatheads. You get what I'm saying?"

Lara shook her head.

"You're just a goddamn buzzkill, you know? I do something good and you're giving me shit over it."

"I'm just telling you to be careful," Kiera said, sharpening her tone. "Now, let's head inside."

"Inside where?"

"The college. Arthur works here. You didn't know that?"

"Well what are we seeing Arthur for?"

"Follow me and you'll see."

Lara chuckled.

"Come on. Just tell me."

"Not until we're inside. Let's go."

Kiera started walking toward the campus and Lara rolled her eyes. She gave Kiera a mock salute as she walked away.

"Of course, oh wise and fearless leader."

"Shut up with that already," Kiera said.

Inside the main building, Lara stepped ahead of Kiera and seemed to know where she was going. Kiera kept pace with her and walked into the small office behind her. She decided not to ask how Lara knew where she was going. Kiera had a feeling it would only lead to more bickering anyway.

When Arthur turned around in his chair, his eyes met Lara's and Kiera watched his bright, intelligent eyes turn glassy and sad.

"So you are going to acknowledge me then," Arthur said, looking straight Lara. To Kiera's surprise, Lara didn't follow this with a sarcastic remark. Her face didn't change and it was perhaps the first time Kiera looked upon Lara without that cocky smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry about that, Art."

"It's all right," Arthur said. "I know you're still angry with my dad. Even if he is gone now."

"But we're still good. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner."

"Hold on. Back up a second," Kiera said. "You two knew each other before?"

Arthur still had a sad look in his eyes.

"We're cousins," Arthur said. "We're both named Adams, after all."

"You're related?"

Kiera glanced between both of them and they did look quite similar. Arthur's hair was dark brown but they both had the same vibrant, blue eyes and they were both pretty pale in complexion.

"I understand that may be hard to believe," Arthur said. "We are both quite different. But we grew up pretty close. Lara, me, and Lara's sister Lily."

"We had to move in with Art's family when we were pretty young," Lara said. "But his father, our uncle, he kicked us out when we were still in high school."

"And I did my best to help them after that. My father was never a very kind man and what he did to those girls was unfair."

"Why'd he kick you out?" Kiera asked.

For the first time, Kiera saw Lara scowl.

"That's personal," Lara said.

"Lara did something out of revenge. And I don't blame her for it. She did it for Lily, after all. But it's very difficult for her to talk about. I wouldn't press her," Arthur said.

When Arthur finished speaking, Lara stepped further into the room. Arthur stood from his desk and met her halfway and they put their arms around each other.

"It was so good to see you again. Even if it was in a place like that and under those circumstances."

Lara chuckled. It was another first for Kiera to see a genuine smile on Lara's face.

"And we're both on the same team. Who would have thought, professor."

Arthur chuckled as well and stepped back from Lara.

"I'm still sorry I didn't come and see you right after."

Arthur scoffed.

"Don't worry yourself, Lara. I understand how hard you feel your emotions. It must be hard to grapple with. And I knew you'd come to see me eventually."

"Fearless leader actually gave me the perfect excuse."

Arthur slapped his forehead and then turned to Kiera.

"I nearly forgot. Forgive me. Please, have a seat."

Lara and Kiera sat down at a pair of chairs in front of Arthur's desk. Arthur sat back down at his desk.

"So why bring Lara, might I ask?"

"Call it a learning experience," Kiera said.

Arthur nodded.

"I see. You do have a tendency to run in on your own, Lara. Kiera was chosen as the leader for a reason."

"Yeah, and about that," Lara said. "How come you chose to train with her over me?"

"I might be a professor, Lara, but I don't have unlimited money. That and I know how you do things. I wasn't interested in taking a beating while training with you. Kiera at least takes it easy on me, even if it doesn't feel like it."

Lara leaned back in her chair and looked over at Kiera.

"You really are the perfect sweetheart, fearless leader."

Kiera stared back at her.

"I think we should cut to the chase. Arthur, can you explain to your idiot cousin what we're doing here?"

Arthur smiled and leaned forward, resting his hands on his desk. He smiled as the two of them continued to stare each other down.

"Kiera gave me an idea at our last training session," Arthur said.

Lara still stared at Kiera and the cocky smirk made its sudden return.

"You are something to look at, you know?" Lara said.

"You think compliments are going to make me hate you any less?"

"Not at all," Lara said. "But I just know you'd put up one hell of a fight. I can see that rage you've got in you. You were given the Bull for a reason."

Kiera remained calm by all outside appearances, though she did clench her fists.

"Got no interest in fighting you," Kiera said.

"Why not?" Lara asked.

"We're on the same side."

"But it'd be fun."

"It'd be a waste of time."

"That's what fun is. It's not a difficult concept."

"I don't waste time. Especially when there's a job to be done."

"Come on. Just one fight. A bit of a spar. What do you say?"

"No."

Lara chuckled.

"Of course you'd say that."

Kiera felt her face start to get warm and she clenched her jaw.

"We need to move on," Kiera said.

Lara's chuckle became a laugh, filled with contempt.

"You're afraid of me."

"What gives you that impression?" Kiera asked.

"You won't fight me. That's because you know you'll lose."

Kiera breathed out through he nose.

"I know what you're trying to do."

"Just admit it, Kiera. I scare you."

"You really don't."

"Then why don't you prove it?"

"Fuck you."

Lara laughed again.

"Not much of a leader to back to down from a fight, are you? Zordon should have made me the Red Ranger, I think. What do you think?"

Kiera took in a longer breath this time.

"You don't want to make me angry," Kiera said.

"Why? What'll you do?"

Kiera turned away from Lara for a moment to look at Arthur.

"I think it's about time we got down to business."

Arthur nodded.

"I'm sorry about her," he said. "She likes to push your buttons. Especially if she likes you."

Kiera leaned back and rolled her eyes.

"Great. Then she must love me. Perfect."

Lara laughed.

"You make it so easy. Look at you. I can feel that rage from over here. I know you want to just hit me. Don't you?"

"Lara," Arthur said. "I'm going to build a machine."

Lara smirked again and winked at Kiera.

"You'll give in sooner or later."

Kiera ignored her and leaned toward Arthur. Lara brought her attention toward her cousin.

"What kind of machine?" she asked.

"Something to help us in a pinch. A kind of disruptor."

Lara chuckled.

"You're going to need to explain what you mean there, poindexter."

Arthur sighed and smiled.

"Kiera had the idea about trying to give us a tactical advantage. It'll be kind of like a flashbang grenade except it'll work on a much larger scale."

"Wouldn't it hit us, too?"

"Our helmets have their own frequency. If I tune the machine to a different frequency and one high enough to deafen our opponent or opponents then it won't affect us at all."

"But what about the whole flash part of the flashbang?" Lara asked.

"The visors on our helmets should protect us. I'll need to test it a bit but it shouldn't be too hard."

"So when would we use this, exactly?"

"Well, in an emergency, it could be used to disorient and perhaps even break apart putties. An emergency could be something like one of us getting hurt in a fight or maybe just too many putties to deal with at once. In that case we set off the machine and either counterattack or do a tactical retreat. It's simple, really."

Lara nodded.

"Right. Simple. So how are you going to build the thing?"

"Leave that part to me. You focus on training that green guy. What's his name again?"

"Shit, Art. For someone so smart you sure don't remember names very well," Lara said.

"I can't remember everything, Lara. What's his name?"

"Cal," Lara said. "And he's a shithead."

Arthur chuckled.

"You say that about everyone. But I might just agree with you on that one."

Kiera cleared her throat and leaned toward Arthur.

"About this machine," she said. "It'd have to work fast. If it's going to work like a flashbang then it needs to trigger quickly. And it'll have to work on that gold guy, too. Even in his giant form. If we're ever in trouble with him we'll need that advantage."

"I'll take that into account, Kiera. I have all the materials I need here in the shop. I'll let you know when it's ready for testing."

"All right. Keep me posted."

Arthur smiled and saluted Kiera.

"Aye aye, Captain."

Kiera scoffed and stood from her chair. But she couldn't help but smile. Arthur's enthusiasm was a refreshing relief from Lara's constant snide remarks.

Kiera opened the door.

"You two need some time to catch up?" she asked.

Lara looked at Arthur and then back to Kiera.

"I think I should leave the nerd to his work, fearless leader."

Arthur laughed.

"And I'll leave the stupidity to the asshole," he said.

Lara smiled as she balled her hand into a fist and held it closer to Arthur's face.

"Don't make me use this, professor."

"You can't hit faculty on campus grounds," Arthur said with a smile.

Lara lowered her hand and stood from her chair.

"Fine. But you got off lucky."

Arthur chuckled again.

"I guess I did. Maybe you could spend your energy bonding with our leader a little bit, hmm?"

Lara walked to the door and stared down Kiera again. Another cocky smirk crossed her face.

"Only if she's up for a beatdown."

Kiera cleared her throat and stared right back at Lara.

"Quit wasting my time, Lara."

"You know you want to. I'll even give you a free punch. Right between the eyes. Come on. You gotta prove it to yourself sooner or later."

Kiera stared down Lara for several moments before turning back to Arthur.

"Make sure you show up for your training tonight, Arthur."

"I will, Kiera. Thank you."

"And thank you as well, Arthur."

Kiera stepped out the door, shooting Lara one final glance before walking away. Lara smiled again and watched Kiera leave.

"You can't keep that rage inside forever, fearless leader," she called.

Kiera didn't turn around, disappearing around the corner of the hallway. Lara stepped back into the room.

"You should be careful," Arthur said. "Kiera does not mess around."

"Believe me, I know. She's a challenge I need to take, though. Nobody's been able to beat me since Lily did back when we trained in Brazil. Kiera might come close."

"Just don't push her too far. You're right about her anger, Lara. She buries it but I suspect that if you let it surface then you'll be in for a world of hurt."

Lara chuckled again.

"I'll keep that in mind, Art. Catch you later."

"I hope so, Lara. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Art. Watch out for the jocks around here. They don't play fair."

Arthur furrowed his brow and looked up from his desk.

"Wait, what makes you say that?"

Lara flashed Arthur her twisted smile.

"Just an observation. I know you're fond of those. See ya, Art."

Arthur waved at her as she closed the door. When she was gone, he leaned over his desk and began to draw up his build plans.


	4. The Spearman

**Chapter 4: The Spearman**

Kiera noticed a weary look to Arthur when he arrived at the training gym. He walked in with a slump to his shoulders. His eyes were tired and glassy and he rubbed them when he caught sight of the bright lights overhead. She asked him about it.

"Don't worry about me," Arthur said. "I just work a little harder when I have something important to do."

"Well, I don't want you pushing yourself too hard," Kiera said. "I know the disruptor is important but isn't worth hurting yourself."

"I'll be fine, Kiera. You don't have to worry about that. I think you've got enough work to do with training a scrub like me."

"Just take care of yourself, all right?"

"I will try, Kiera."

When they started sparring, Kiera held back on him for a bit but found him fighting back well. He even managed to put her off a balance a few times so Kiera had to adjust and stop holding back. Throughout their time, Arthur failed to break through Kiera's defence but he furrowed his brow when they finished. She stepped back and took in a heavy breath.

"You've improved. You're getting pretty good."

"Doesn't feel like it," Arthur said.

"You've got the discipline down and your reflexes are getting better. We'll have to see how you do in a real fight. You'll do better than you think, I'd wager."

Arthur cleared his throat and picked up a small duffle bag.

"Well, I'll get back to the disruptor, then. Will you be joining me?"

"Not this time. Alpha called and said Zordon's got some information for us at the command centre. I've told the rest of the team to meet me there."

"What about me?"

"I'll fill you in the next time I check on you."

Arthur nodded.

"All right then. I've got a few more tests to run but I should have something to show you next time you stop by the shop."

"Good. And just take care to get some rest at some point."

Arthur let out a slow breath.

"Sure. I'll try. Good night, Kiera."

"Good night, Arthur."

With Arthur gone, she started packing up her duffle bag. The door behind her opened again and she didn't turn around. Assuming it to be the gym's owner, Kiera continued packing her bag and zipped it up.

"We're done in here," she said. "I'm just packing up and getting ready to..."

Kiera trailed off when she saw who stood behind her. A cocky grin and a light chuckle greeted her eyes and ears. She let out a long breath.

"What a coincidence. I've finished beating up Cal, too."

Kiera moved back to her bag and picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Then you need to head back to the command centre, like I said earlier. Let's not waste any time."

Lara laughed when Kiera started walking away. Kiera stopped in her tracks.

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

Lara stepped closer to Kiera.

"We've still got the gear on," Lara said. "What do you say?"

"I'm not fighting you, Lara. Now get back to the command centre."

"I've got a better idea. I don't go unless you show me that stupid discipline you go on about with Art."

Kiera took in a sharp breath through her nose.

"There's no time for this. We need to go. Now."

"What kind of shitty leader backs down from a fight?"

"You've already tried this, Lara. Shut up and move on."

"You're such a softie. You don't even try to use that anger you've got in you. And you don't teach Art the value of using your anger to your advantage. He'd be better off with me."

"Emotions cloud your judgement. Much like they're doing to you right now. You have to be disciplined. You can't let emotion drive you or you'll make mistakes."

"That's why you control it, Kiera. Use the anger but control it. Do not let it control you. Anger keeps you in the fight. And I know you've got a mean temper in you."

"Emotions waste time, Lara. And so do pointless fights that accomplish nothing. Now let's go."

"I told you I'm not going."

Kiera's eyes went dark and she stood still. Lara, carrying a bag of her own, dropped it from her shoulder and held it out to her side. She let it go and it the floor mats with a dull thud. She raised her fists.

"This is the only way I'm going with you," Lara said.

Kiera closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths, opening her eyes again.

"We don't have time for this."

"Sure we do."

"Pick up that fucking bag."

"Or what, fearless leader?"

"You don't want to find out."

"I really do."

Kiera let the bag drop from her shoulder. She stepped closer to Lara and glared down at her, matching her eye to eye.

"You need to learn some goddamn respect," Kiera said.

"Then teach it to me."

"That's what I'm trying to do. I have no need to hurt people and neither to you. We don't need to solve everything with violence."

"You're the leader. Do what it takes to make your team fall in line. I'm not falling in line and it's pretty clear that your words don't do a damn thing. So what does that tell you?"

Kiera took in several more deep breaths. She clenched her fists and turned around, reaching down for her bag again. Lara spoke again.

"What do you think that boy of yours would think if he could see you now?"

Kiera's muscles tensed and she froze in place. She stopped reaching for her bag and stepped back to Lara.

"What did you just say to me?"

"You've told us about that boy you're taking care of. What's his name? Gavin? Do you think Gavin would be proud to see his guardian pissing her pants like a coward? Do you think he'd be happy to see you failing to do your damn job?"

"You leave him out of this."

"Or what?"

Kiera hesitated to respond and a tense silence hung on the air.

"You've got no need to do this."

"Of course I do. Show me you're worth respecting, fearless leader."

"No."

Lara shrugged and the cocky smirk spread across her face again.

"Fine then. I guess Gavin is going to have to live with the comfort that you won't be able to protect him. You're worthless to him."

Kiera finally lost her temper and growled. She threw a wicked punch at Lara's head. She leaned back and avoided the blow, laughing while she did.

"Yeah. That's it. Here we go."

Kiera grappled with Lara and her strength started to win out. But Lara used leverage to her advantage and leaned against Kiera's weight, dragging her off balance. With a quick movement, Lara swept Kiera's legs from under her and caused her to stumble to the mat. But while revelling in this, Lara didn't expect Kiera to recover so fast. Kiera launched herself from the mat and lifted Lara off the ground, slamming her down onto the mat. Kiera tried to throw a punch but Lara was quick enough to move aside and Kiera punched the mat instead.

Lara countered by rolling out from under Kiera and getting back on her feet but Kiera was also up a split second after. Once Kiera stood back up, Lara tried an immediate punch to Kiera's torso. Kiera stopped Lara's fist in mid-air and grabbed her arm. She pulled Lara closer and picked her up again, tossing her to the mat once more. Kiera's rage overtook her and she picked up Lara and slammed her into the mat again and again.

Once she exhausted herself, Kiera picked her up one final time and threw her across the room into the padded wall. Despite this beating, Lara got back up again in milliseconds. Kiera's anger blinded her to the flurry of punches that came her way. She blocked a few of them but Lara landed a few solid shots to Kiera's protected head and a few to her upper torso. A quick breath gave Kiera some energy back and she blocked both of Lara's hands and threw a vicious kick to her stomach. This caused Lara to stumble backward and Kiera kept her off balance with a heavy right to the forehead, followed by a left to the stomach.

Even when Lara stumbled again she got back up as quick as she had before. She swept out Kiera's legs again but as she started to fall, Kiera got hold of Lara's arm and pulled her down with her. They both fell to the mat in a heap but leapt back up to face each other. Both of them threw a right and blocked each other's punch and they both stopped. They both heaved exhausted breaths and stared at each other for a short while. With the last of her energy, Kiera returned Lara's leg sweep to her and caused her to fall to the mat one final time. Kiera stood over her and did her best to catch her breath. The rage began to subside and she reached down to help Lara up. Lara accepted her hand and pulled herself back up to face Kiera. Lara smiled wide. Kiera's expression did not change.

"The command centre," Kiera said, still heaving breaths. "Now."

Lara's smile would not disappear.

"Sure thing," she said.

Kiera said nothing more. She walked back to her bag and picked it up off the floor. The door to the gym slammed off the wall and she left Lara alone. Still smiling, Lara picked up her bag and followed after the Red Ranger.-

-The team gathered around Alpha, minus Arthur, and awaited Zordon's words. Lara stood beside Kiera and the two of them exchanged glances. Kiera said nothing and waited for Zordon to speak.

"Rangers, we know what Zedd plans to do next," Zordon said.

"How do you know?" asked Ayla.

"Alpha managed to hack into their communications. Another attack is imminent. But we will be better prepared this time."

"What kind of attack?" Kiera asked.

"Zedd's minions are creating a beast to send down to Earth. We do not know what its abilities will be but we are certain it will be very strong."

"Come again? Creating beasts?" Cal asked.

"Yes. Their technology is very strange and I have never fully understood it myself. But they have the capability to mould any creature they desire on a smaller scale and create them with incredible power."

"So what stops him from sending, like, a million of these things down here?" Lara asked.

"Everything has its limits. I can only guess but I do not think even Lord Zedd has the resources to send down an army of powerful creatures like he can with the putties."

At Zordon's mention of putties an alarm went off almost right away.

"Zordon," Alpha began.

Zordon sighed.

"Yes, Alpha. I am aware. My timing is perfect, as usual. The viewing globe, Rangers. Look to it."

The globe came to life and showed them images of more putties battling back and force with a small group of police officers outside the police station.

"Oh no! Zordon! They're attacking the police!"

"I can see that, Alpha. And they seem to be overwhelmed. Rangers, I suppose now is as good a time as any to give you your weapons."

Lara smiled.

"Weapons you say?"

"Yes. They are powerful objects so you must use them wisely. But they will give you a tactical advantage in most any fight. Lara, the Power Cutlass is yours to wield."

The image of a curved sword with a yellow hilt appeared in the viewing globe. It appeared to be made of a high strength metal like titanium and it glowed with some kind of technological power.

"Cal, you shall wield the Power Axe."

Cal smiled.

"Sweet. Finally, something cool."

The axe appeared in the viewing globe, constructed of the same metal as the other weapons. The silver head glistened and the green handle denoted its user.

"Ayla, the twin Power Daggers are yours."

The daggers appeared and they, too, were made of the same material with hilts and handles both coloured black.

"And Kiera, you shall wield the Power Sword."

A titanium coloured longsword with a red hilt appeared in the viewing globe.

"Once you morph, these weapons should be sheathed at your sides in your belts. Now go and fulfill your duty, Rangers. I shall call Arthur so that he may join you in battle and receive his Power Shuriken. Before I send you, I must ask. Have you any weapons training?"

"Quite a bit," Ayla said.

Lara smirked.

"You kidding? There's no training I don't have."

"I've done a bit," Kiera said. She looked to Cal. "I'm guessing you haven't."

Cal nodded to Lara.

"This one's showed me a tiny bit. But she mostly just hits me with things."

"Well stick close to me, then. You'll learn as you go," Kiera said.

Cal nodded.

"Sure thing, Cap."

"All right. Let's move then," Kiera said.

They each morphed into their Ranger forms with their new weapons at their sides and Zordon sent them away, promising that Arthur would join them soon. When they were gone, he spoke to Alpha.

"Call the Blue Ranger. The team must fight as a whole."

The other four arrived out in front of the police headquarters. They landed right in the middle of a large group of putties. Kiera didn't hesitate to draw the longsword at her side.

"Stick together this time. Don't let them get behind you and call for help if you need it," Kiera said.

"I read you, fearless leader," Lara said.

Cal turned his head toward Lara.

"You feeling all right?"

Lara unsheathed her cutlass and spun it in her hand. She stretched her muscles and hopped up and down a few times before planting herself.

"Less talk more fight, little shit," she said.

Cal's frustration grew with Lara's name-calling and he pulled the axe from his belt. He gripped it in both hands like he was about to chop wood.

Ayla said nothing and deftly pulled out her twin daggers, flipping them in the air and catching them in both hands. The putties started circling as they readied themselves.

"Let's go!' Kiera called.

The four of them picked their targets and moved as a group. They found their weapons easy to use and all instincts came naturally to them. It was as though they had been using these weapons all their lives. Cal had some trouble, since his training was almost nonexistent, but he soon found his groove and fought as well as the others.

The Rangers also noticed that their weapons negated the need to hit the putties chest piece. Blades would cut through them like butter and they would fall apart into soft bits of clay with little to no effort. The weapons made it easier to fight off putties but they seemed endless this time. They were perhaps even more numerous than the initial attack on Parksville. The Rangers started to feel overwhelmed at the odds.

Meanwhile, Arthur had been brought into the command centre. He hadn't yet finished his work on the disruptor and he didn't bring it with him. Zordon filled him in on the situation and Arthur saw his team battling through the viewing globe.

"All right. Send me in," Arthur said.

"Before you go, I must give you the Power Shuriken. They will be on your belt when you morph."

Arthur watched to the viewing globe and saw a set of three shuriken. They looked high-tech and made of some kind of high tensile strength metal with blue edges to the silver blades.

"I need to get down there," Arthur said. "Owl Soul Beast!"

When Arthur morphed his belt had six shuriken tucked into a pouch.

"I don't know how to use these," he said.

"Do not fret, Blue Ranger. They are powerful weapons. Just make a simple throw and the weapon will do the rest. You will find that practice will make you better as well."

"I hope so. All right. Let's go."

Arthur disappeared into a flash of blue light.

When he arrived, the other four seemed to have a few problems beating back the waves of putties. Arthur plucked two shuriken from his belt. He shot a glance to the two shuriken in his hand and eyed the putties surrounding his teammates.

"Let's hope this works," he said.

Doing his best imitation of an outfielder, Arthur flung his arm forward and aimed the two shuriken at five putties that approached behind Lara. Their paths diverged and one of them sliced through three of them, one right after another. The other cut into the other two and all five of them fell to the ground in pieces. Lara noticed this and looked in Arthur's direction.

"Thanks for the help, nerd." she said. "Now get the fuck over here and help us out."

When Arthur joined them, Lara took the opportunity to split off from the group and protect her cousin. She kept the putties from reaching him and pulled him closer to her and tried to regroup with the rest of the team but a wall of putties cut them off.

"Shit," Lara said. "We need to get back to them. She been training you well?"

"Well enough," Arthur said.

"Good because those little throwing stars won't be any good in close quarters. Stay close to me and fight back where you can. Don't forget about hitting them in the chest. All right?"

"Right."

Lara chuckled.

"Then do some nerd ass-kicking, Art."

The two of them moved together toward the putties that separated them from the rest of their team.

Lord Zedd watched from above in his starship and growled as he watched the Power Rangers fight back against the putties.

"They won't know what hit them this time," he said. He spun his throne around to face Goldar behind him, who had just entered the room.

"Do they have it ready yet?"

"Very nearly, my lord. The work is long but the results will be undeniable."

Lord Zedd growled again.

"For your sake they'd better be, Goldar. Do not return to me until the creature is ready."

"Yes, my lord."

Lord Zedd sat back down in his throne as Goldar disappeared down the corridor. He rested his chin on his right fist and resumed his brooding. His mood had been more than foul ever since the Power Rangers had defeated Goldar.

A worrying thought entered Zedd's mind. He remembered the past and his many defeats at the hands of Zordon's Power Rangers. How could a being, trapped as Zordon was, continue to fight back as hard as he did? It didn't make sense. Zedd growled when he remembered the lackey role he had been forced to take on when his repeated attempts to take Earth had failed. He'd worked with so many figureheads and served too many masters who, like him, had failed to take Earth. But why did they want the planet so bad? The question formed in his mind before he could stop it.

Earth wasn't a terrible planet but what made it so special? Was it the vast, beautiful oceans that coated most of its surface? Was it the varied and strange landscapes across the whole world that inspired a sense of wonder? Or maybe it was that he, and many others, saw the creatures that ruled the planet as inferior? Maybe they saw that the humans of Earth wasted their tremendous gift of a planet and did not deserve to rule over it. Perhaps he was trying to save Earth from the very creatures she gave life to. He wanted to save it from the humans who did not care for it. He tried to tell himself that what he wanted was for the sake of the pale blue dot that lay below him, hovering in suspension above the vast plane of darkness.

Or maybe he just wanted something to rule. He had conquered planets before and it had been easy. There had been no Zordon to save them. He had been trapped in that dimension and his Power Rangers on the other planets could not fight back. Why did they have such power here? Why was Zordon able to fight back on Earth of all places? And why did he not just give in and move on to another planet? He didn't want to think about it but the thought came just the same. Lord Zedd wanted to think of himself as Earth's saviour, liberating it from its oppressors. But, in truth, he craved power and influence. He took any chance he could to extend that power. Worse still, he could not stand to remain defeated. That was an insult. There was no one who should be able to challenge him and he needed to prove it.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the growling voice of Goldar speak to him from the doorway.

"Your creature is finished, my lord."

Lord Zedd growled again. Goldar never could tell the difference between his master's growls. Zedd never seemed to express any happiness these days. Gone were the days when he would laugh at his opponents' demise. Perhaps that had something to do with Rita's absence. Goldar didn't know and would never dare to speak to Lord Zedd about it.

"Send it down, then. Teach those damned Rangers what true power is."

Goldar bowed his head and backed out of the room.

"Yes, Master. As you say."

Arthur managed to avoid the punch of one putty and even countered with a solid punch of his own right to the chest. He smiled to himself as he watched the creature crumble into bits of clay and disappear. He got caught staring at the one that disappeared and one of them hit him with a forearm to the head while a second tackled him to the ground. He tried to fight back against the one on top of him but he watched a curved blade slice the creature in two and it disappeared, The one that clotheslined him was nowhere to be seen. Lara's yellow, lioness helmet peered down at him and she pulled him back up by the upper arm.

"Watch yourself. There's no time to bask."

Barely finishing her sentence, she spun around and sliced the head off a putty that attacked her from behind. She did a full spin and faced Arthur again.

"See?"

Arthur didn't have time to respond as a putty launched itself at him and he got hold of it and tossed it to the ground like Kiera had showed him. He stomped on its chest and it disappeared again. He could hear Lara chuckling behind him.

"That's what I'm talking about, Art. Show them what our goddamn name means. Show them an Adams."

Arthur continued the fight beside his cousin and they managed to clear a big group of putties to get back to the rest of the team. Lara stepped closer to Kiera and they both stood with their backs to each other. Kiera turned her head to the side to speak to Lara.

"You done being a hotshot?"

Lara chuckled.

"Fuck off. Art needed help. I helped him. Would you have left him on his own?"

"Just don't get cut off next time. It's always you that splits the team. Stick with the goddamn group."

"You sure know how to encourage a team, fearless leader. You keep giving me shit for doing good things and I might just side with Lord Zedd."

"Do I need to teach you another lesson?"

Lara chuckled again.

"Now's not the time, I guess."

"Damn right," Kiera said. "Now let's do our jobs."

Lara said nothing more, much to Kiera's surprise, and the team fought back against the putties again. But the fight didn't last much longer. The putties disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. The few police officers that remained outside the station stared at the Rangers. Much like their first fight together, the Rangers could feel the eyes of the officers glued to them in a sort of cautious awe. But once things quieted down, the clouds above them began to darken.

"Is it really going to be like this every time?" Cal asked.

"I don't mind the repetition," Ayla replied. "I just wish people wouldn't stare."

Thunder cracked in the sky and a bolt of white lightning struck the ground about twenty feet from them. But Goldar did not appear this time. Instead, a silent figure stood before them. He would have been a large man, even without the pallid, white armour he wore.

The armour itself may have been white but it was a sickly, dull shade of white like some kind of dirty marble stone. The armour consisted of four main parts; the greaves, the cuirass, the gauntlets and the helmet. The greaves went all the way up the leg and met the bottom of the cuirass at the waist. The knees matched the gauntlets at the wrists and the shoulders with a sort of melted look.

The figure's arms were bare along with its fingers and the top half of its face. But they couldn't see skin there. The dull, white clad figure seemed to be made of the very shadows themselves. They saw no eyes peering out at them from behind the face guard of the helmet and nothing but darkness lay within. But the darkness was not formless. They saw the shape of a head and arms and fingers that clasped a long, steel spear. An armoured man made of nothing but darkness stood before them.

"Um, what the fuck is that thing?" Cal asked.

"Is that really the weirdest thing we've seen, Cal? Come on. Take a look in a mirror at yourself right now. This guy is nothing but a ploy to try and scare us," Arthur said.

The figure still did not move. A low, rumbling growl seemed to come up from the depths of the Earth as it turned its head to face them. It raised its spear up in the air and planted it onto the road. The asphalt cracked and split where he brought down the spear and a long, snaking fissure opened up and headed toward them. Three of them stepped aside as the road split in two and the crack stopped about thirty feet behind them. Kiera and Lara, however, didn't even budge. They just stared at the creature and drew the weapons at their sides.

Kiera slid the longsword out of her sheath slow and allowed the blade to sing. She gripped it in both hands. Lara drew her cutlass and held it in her right hand and planted herself. The pair of them stood on either side of the narrow crack in the road. Their eyes met for a few moments.

"You sure that's a good idea, ladies?" Cal asked.

Lara nodded her head to the Red Ranger.

"I think so. How about you, fearless leader?"

Kiera stared down the armoured figure.

"Draw your weapons," she said.

"But-"

"Draw your weapons, Cal. This is what we were chosen to do. This is our job."

Cal pulled the axe from his belt.

"He looks dangerous," Cal said.

"What hasn't been?" Ayla asked.

"She makes a good point," Arthur added.

The whole team could hear the smile on Lara's face when she spoke.

"Of course he's dangerous. But that just makes it more fun."

"You've got serious fucking issues, Lara," Cal said.

"Everybody shut up," Kiera said. She spoke to Lara again. "You're with me."

"You know I can handle myself," Lara said.

"I'm not having you run off on your own again. This is serious. The shit will hit the fucking fan if I don't see you standing right here through the whole fight. You hear me?"

Lara chuckled.

"Sure, I hear you. But if you want to stick beside me then you're going to need to keep up. Like, for instance, if I do this."

Lara sprinted toward the spearman. Kiera cursed and chased after her.

"Now! Everyone, go!"

The remaining three ran after the two of them but Lara reached the spearman first. She knew he would try to hit her and she ducked underneath the hefty swing of his spear. She took a swing at his knee as she turned to the side and slowed her momentum but her cutlass just glanced off the armour.

"Should have known better," she said.

Lara hadn't expected the spearman to be so fast and the spear's point screamed toward her head at incredible speed before she had time to think. But it was deflected aside as a blur of red appeared in front of her. She heard a clash of steel and heavy growl emanate from the spearman and she caught sight of Kiera. The Red Ranger grappled with the spearman for a few seconds before she was shoved backward toward Lara. The Yellow Ranger let out a bemused chuckle when Kiera reached her.

"Strong one, isn't he?"

Kiera didn't answer her and they both attacked the spearman again.

While they attacked from the front, Ayla managed to get in behind the spearman and did her best to remain out of his line of sight. He countered Kiera and Lara by gripping the spear in one hand and spinning it around. The wild spinning forced them back. The spear almost struck Ayla and she had just enough time to catch the spear with her daggers but the force of the strike forced her backward.

In the same motion, the spearman whirled around and saw Cal swinging his axe toward his head. The spearman caught the axe head with the shaft of the spear and pushed backward with both hands. Cal stumbled backward and fell to the ground. The spearman moved in to strike out at Cal but had to spin his spear around again as a pair of shuriken sliced through the air toward him. He knocked them both out of the air and tried to skewer Cal all in the same motion. Kiera's sword deflected the spear away again and this forced him to grapple with Kiera once more. This time he pushed her back harder and Kiera stumbled a bit but kept her balance.

The fight went on like this for ages and none of them could even get close to the spearman. Despite their superior numbers the spearman actually had them on the defensive. He proved to be much more dangerous than Goldar had been. The longer the fight went on the more Ayla noticed the spearman getting much more aggressive. He didn't leave much in the way of openings but she knew their numbers would win out as he grew more desperate to start taking them out. Despite their defensive position, they fared well enough to keep the spearman contained. So Ayla decided to seize her opportunity when it arose.

With his back to her, Ayla made like she was trying to get close to him again. When he tried to swing at her this time, however, she was much further back than he had been anticipating. Gripping one of her daggers by the blade, she threw it toward the spearman's unprotected neck. He was quick enough to keep it from sinking in but the edge did catch his neck and a much deeper growl shook the ground as a black mist poured from the spearman's neck. With her left hand dagger remaining, Ayla rushed the spearman and leapt over his swinging spear while burying her left hand dagger into the same spot on the creature's neck. The spearman growled again and pushed Ayla away. It growled yet again when she wrenched the dagger from his wound. Ayla ran around behind him and picked up the dagger she had thrown and prepared to attack the spearman again.

"No!" Lord Zedd shouted from above. His eyes glowed red and he slammed his fist onto the railing of his balcony. "I will not have the tide be turned yet again. It is time, Goldar. The Spearman shall grow!"

Lord Zedd picked up his staff and threw it as hard as he could toward the Earth. It soon struck the ground beside the spearman and he took on a much taller form, towering above the Rangers in a blink.

"Great," Ayla said. "Just when I fucking had him."

"This really is going to happen every time, isn't it?" Cal said.

"Call the Zords and let's not waste time. We need to get the Megazord right now!" Kiera said.

Each Ranger called their zords and the Bull, Lion, Wolf, Raven, and Owl came together once more. They all formed the Soul Beast Megazord and Kiera called upon the Sword of Beasts. After plucking the sword from the ground they readied themselves.

The spearman didn't hesitate once it saw the Megazord take shape. He thrust his spear into the chest of the Megazord, causing it to stumble backward and sparks to fly from its chest. Kiera gripped her controls hard and righted the Megazord's balance.

"Fucking prick," she said, gritting her teeth. "Cut him the fuck down!"

The Megazord countered and feinted with its sword while delivering a low kick to the legs of the spearman. The Megazord struck hard and fast with the Sword of Beasts at the same time and dropped the spearman to the ground. While trying to run him through, he rolled away and leapt back to his feet.

"Man, fuck this guy," Cal said.

"I think you and I finally agree on something," Arthur said.

"Shut up and focus," Ayla said to the pair of them.

The fight carried on for quite a while. The two giant combatants traded blows back and forth without much success either way but the fight took a turn in the Rangers' favour. The spearman took a very aggressive thrust of his spear and overextended himself. The Megazord stepped to one side and Kiera's eyes opened wide as she spotted the shaft of the spear.

"Hit the spear. Hit it now!"

With a swift strike, the Sword of Beasts sliced clean through the steel spear and split it in two. The head of the spear hit the ground and landed at the side of the road and out of harm's way. Now the spearman was only left with a short stick to defend itself with. It blocked another strike from the Megazord but, with Lara and Kiera's combined knowledge and tactics, the Megazord got around this by sweeping out the spearman's legs and causing him to fall to the ground on his back. They wasted no time in slamming the sword down onto the spearman's neck, avoiding the hard cuirass and piercing the creature's throat. The loud, rumbling growl shook the ground like an earthquake. The spearman shuddered and mist poured out from its throat. Soon the spearman became nothing but black smoke. It disappeared in a shower of sparks and left nothing but a faint puff of smoke in its wake. The Megazord sheathed its sword and the Rangers stood over their latest fallen foe.

"Well, that was a royal pain in the ass," Cal said.

"Quite your bellyaching, little shit. There'll be plenty more where that came from," Lara said.

Up above them, Lord Zedd fumed but he remained silent. Goldar didn't even dare to approach his lord when he wouldn't speak, afraid Zedd might kill him if he did. After many long and silent moments, Lord Zedd cast his gaze back upon Goldar.

"Tell those lab rats to come and see me," he said. "I would like a word with them."

"Yes, my lord," Goldar said. "As you command."

When Goldar left the room, Zedd sat down in his throne again and gripped his staff. He stood up suddenly and threw it across the room and pounded a fist into his throne. He shouted his rage and sat down again. He rested his head in his left hand and waited for Goldar to return.


	5. Blood

**Chapter 5: Blood**

 _Note: Chapters will be longer from here on out_

Road crews closed off the road and many hours of work had already gone into repairing the huge crack. They allowed Ayla into the station's parking lot around the back and she stepped inside the main lobby in street clothes. She nodded to the desk sergeant on her way past and changed into her uniform in the closed off locker room nearby. Ayla approached the sergeant's desk and held a card out to him. He scanned it with a small device and handed Ayla a clipboard.

"How you been, Ayla?"

"All right," Ayla answered. "Better than you guys yesterday, from what I hear."

The middle-aged man behind the desk chuckled.

"You picked a hell of a day to take off. But we had it handled all right."

"Not what I heard," Ayla said. "Heard you had help."

"From those freaks in the motorcycle suits? Give me a break."

The slightest trace of a smile crossed Ayla's stoic face.

"Whatever you say, Danny. Just make sure not to say that in front of them."

"Ah, to hell with them. We don't need any vigilante, sci-fi freaks running around doing our jobs."

"You sure, Danny? I heard one of them started scarfing donuts and sitting behind a desk. You better watch out or they'll be after your job," Ayla said.

"Was that a joke? In all my years, I never thought I'd hear you crack a joke, Captain Pokerface."

"Stranger things have happened, Danny. Take it easy tonight, eh?"

"Believe me, I plan on it. Oh, the Lieutenant said he wanted to talk to you when you get the chance."

"Did he say why?" Ayla asked.

"He didn't tell me. Though, by the sounds of things, I think you might have some rough work ahead of you. Take care of yourself out there."

"Sure thing, Danny. See you in the morning."

On her way to the Lieutenant's office, Ayla stopped at a woman's desk. She had started clearing her desk for the night when she noticed Ayla looming above her. A wry smile crossed the woman's face.

"Ayla," she said. "Back on duty tonight then?"

"You know I am, Nima," Ayla said. "Just came to check up on you."

Nima chuckled.

"How old am I now, Ayla?"

"Stop it. You know I have to."

"No you don't," Nima said with a smile. "You want to because you care but you're too damn stubborn to admit it."

Ayla said nothing and straightened her posture.

"Before you go," Nima continued. "Sit down for a sec. I've got something I want to show you."

Ayla furrowed her brow but she took a seat across from Nima anyway. The younger woman flung a newspaper onto the desk and slid it across toward Ayla. A cursory glance of the front page showed a well shot still image of the Rangers battling the Spearman. Ayla herself sat front and centre, in full morphed form, throwing one of her daggers at the beast.

"Quite a shitstorm last night," Nima said. "Shame you missed it."

The same wry smile crept onto Nima's face again.

"Not as I understand it," Ayla said. "Sounds like things went crazy around here."

"Lucky me I had paperwork to do," Nima said. "Else I would have been right in the middle of it. I might have even caught a glimpse of this woman here."

Nima tapped the picture of Ayla on the newspaper's front page.

"What's your point?" Ayla asked.

Nima's smile widened.

"Pretty good moves on her, don't you think?"

Ayla shrugged.

"Don't know. I haven't seen her in action."

"Sure you haven't," Nima said. She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper. "You forget who taught you that little move, big sister."

Ayla remained expressionless.

"You implying something, little one?"

"Relax, Ayla. I know that's you but I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"You don't know anything of the sort," Ayla said. "I think you've been working too long. You're jumping to ridiculous conclusions."

Nima leaned back and rolled up the newspaper. She threw it away and folded her arms, letting out a long breath.

"Ah, well," she said. "You never were much good at opening up. Dad was right to call you 'Lady Serious.'"

"Yeah, and you're a little shit for spreading 'Captain Pokerface' around here. I'll never get away from that one now," Ayla said.

Her sister stood from her chair and grabbed her coat. Ayla stood with her and they stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Got a hug for me at least?" Nima asked.

Ayla rolled her eyes and held out her arms. Nima threw her arms around her shoulders and caused Ayla to stumble but she hugged her little sister in return.

"You might be a stubborn, unfeeling robot," Nima teased. "But I always knew you were cool."

"Enough of your nonsense," Ayla said. "You should head home."

"What do you think I'm doing? I'd already be there if somebody didn't have to come and check up on me."

"All right, I get it. Don't let me keep you."

"I'll always make time for you, big sister," Nima said as she stared walking away. "Call me after work?"

Ayla sighed.

"Again?"

"Hey, if you can check up on me then I get to do the same to you."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Ayla. Be safe."

Ayla watched her sister step outside and continued on to the Lieutenant's office at the back of the building. A grizzled, lanky man stood up to meet her eyes when she entered the room.

"Officer Jalal," he said, his tone low and even. "Take a seat, please."

Ayla and the Lieutenant sat down at the same time and he pored over some of the papers on his desk. He slid a thick report across to her. She eyed the document for a short time.

"The shipyard?" she asked.

"Rough part of town these days," the Lieutenant said. "Those weird thugs with the masks show up there all the time. Dozens of injuries since they first started appearing."

"So what's different this time?"

The Lieutenant let out a short breath and he shook his head.

"You're still good, Ayla. Any reason you're not still up there giving me orders?"

"What's different, Lieutenant?" Ayla's stoic tone broke and she sounded impatient this time.

"More of them are showing up than usual the last few days. City council's pressuring the mayor to declare a state of emergency in the area. But now we've got reports they've just up and vanished."

"You're sending me to find out why?"

"Just to comb the area," the Lieutenant said. "And you're not going alone."

"I don't-"

"You don't do the partner thing anymore, I know," Lieutenant said. "But it's a dangerous area. I'm sending Mark with you."

Ayla stiffened her back at the mention of Mark. She'd known him for years. Her parents and his were old friends who emigrated together from Saudi Arabia. They were both born in Parksville and even grew up on the same street. The two of them became police officers together and Mark had been a legend and moved up the ranks quicker than even Ayla. Ayla didn't really talk to Mark all that much these days and most people who saw him thought he looked sad and conflicted. They hadn't worked together in years.

Ayla cleared her throat and pushed the memories to the back of her mind. This news, however, still concerned her.

"You think it's that bad?" Ayla asked.

"We're not sure," the Lieutenant said. "The higher ups thought it best to send the best we've got." The Lieutenant paused. "And they know that you and Mark-"

Ayla chuckled but her eyes were not smiling. The Lieutenant felt the contempt and rage in Ayla's laugh and stopped speaking. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his head.

"Any questions?" he asked.

Ayla stood from her chair and said nothing. She stepped to the door and opened it.

"Mark's waiting for me?" Ayla asked.

"Should be out front. Anything else?"

Ayla swallowed hard.

"Watch your back around the higher ups, Sam."

She closed the door behind her and the Lieutenant slumped into his chair when she left.

A tall, handsome man with skin the colour of caramel awaited her in the lobby. Ayla caught his eyes and the soft brown hue almost looked grey to her. Stubble lined the lower half of his face and his black hair, though kept well, was much thicker than she remembered. He didn't keep it as neat as he used to, it seemed.

"Ayla," he said with a nod. "You ready for this?"

"Ask yourself that question, Mark," Ayla said. "We'll take my car."

"You don't want me to follow you?"

"Best we stick together," Ayla said. "Sam says it could be rough. Higher ups seem to think so, too."

Mark chuckled through his nose and almost sneered at their mention.

"I bet they do."

"For once, I agree with them," Ayla said. "So stay close to each other."

"You always did know better," Mark said. "I'll follow your lead."

They walked out together into the darkening night and disappeared into the deep shadows of the empty streets.-

* * *

\- Lara tossed a heavy, dark yellow backpack onto the couch beside her and flopped down into her cushy chair. A tall, muscular woman with short, blonde hair tossed it back toward her from the couch.

"Don't chuck your shit at me," she said.

"Someone's in a mood," Lara said with a wry smirk.

"Where were you?" the younger woman asked, glaring into Lara's eyes.

"Out. What does it matter?"

"Doing what?"

"Lily-"

"Lara, don't," Lily said. "Don't fucking lie to me. Don't waste my time with any more lies. Just tell me."

Lara let out a long breath and reached into the bag. She tossed a thick stack of papers onto the table in front of them.

"I was working," Lara said.

Lily flipped through a few of the papers and shoved them back across the table.

"You went to Garrett again."

"I had to, Lily. His brother's the Deputy goddamn Commissioner. They hate each other. I need everything I can to-"

"To what, Lara? Take them all down? We don't live in a fucking fairy tale. It's only a matter of time before they come after you. Again."

"I've already got publications in four states that have agreed to put this into print, Lily. I'm already a trusted name."

"And a blacklisted freelancer. They've got our media's fucking journalists on their side too, you know. You're going to get hurt, Lara."

"As long as the bastards leave you out of it this time then that doesn't matter," Lara said. "And that means keeping you in the dark. The less you know the better off you'll be."

Lily folded her arms and leaned back against the couch.

"None of this shit would happen if you'd just let it go. Look, I get it. Hit back at Darren for throwing us out as kids. Hurt his legacy for what he did to you and Mark. But it's just not worth it. Just you being alive and doing well should be enough revenge."

"Well it isn't," Lara said. "And it isn't right. Mark's stuck on some shitty beat when he should be saving lives. Ayla resigned her post over it and got the same fucking treatment. She should be right there beside him. It isn't right, Lily."

"Neither is taking jobs for Garrett," Lily said.

Lara chuckled.

"Come on, Lily. I'm basically just Robin Hood. Steal from the fat pigs and give to those in need."

"Robin Hood didn't keep shit for himself."

"Sure he did. How do you think those fucking 'merry men' survived?"

"He's also just a folk legend."

"Those can be real. Like those Rangers, whatever they call themselves. They're folk heroes and they're real as you and me," Lara said.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"God, you bring them up like you're their PR manager or something. Christ, Lara. What is it about them that has you so enamoured?"

Lara smirked.

"They make the PDP look stupid," Lara said. "And do their jobs better than they do. I'm all about that."

"I should have beaten that chip out of your shoulder, Lara," Lily said. "Where did that even come from?"

"Dunno. Dad, probably. You know how much he hated Darren."

"Yeah. And you got Mom's snarky fucking attitude. Sometimes I wonder if I was adopted."

Lara stood up from her chair and flopped down on the couch next to her sister. She wrapped an arm around Lily's wide shoulders.

"Oh, it's in you too, young'un. You just bury it under that veneer of social niceties. You're a sweetheart, for sure, but you're mean as hell underneath."

Lily shoved Lara to the side with one of her thick, strong arms. Lara laughed. "See?"

"Shut up, you dumb bitch," Lily said.

Lily stood up from the couch and started walking to their left toward the kitchen when she stopped in her tracks. A strange sound emanated from the outside and seemed to be getting louder. She furrowed her brow.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Lara didn't answer her. She went completely still and her muscles tensed. Her eyes narrowed when a person dashed past the front window. At least it looked like a person at first glance. She noticed the strange, white jumpsuit first and the grey, red-eyed face second. Lara only caught a glimpse of the letter 'Z' plastered on its chest but that was enough to tell her what had been making that sound.

Lara stood straight and balled her hands into fists.

"Get upstairs, Lily," she said.

"What? Why?"

"Just go. Get in the bathroom and lock the door."

Lily rarely heard a serious tone to her sister's voice so she stepped back into the living room and stood beside Lara.

"What's wrong?"

"They're coming."

"Who?"

"The p- those alien things."

"Why would they be coming?"

"Stop asking questions and get upstairs."

"I'm not leaving you alone with them," Lily said.

"Yes you are. I can handle them."

"No. Not by yourself."

"God damn it, Lily-"

Lara didn't get to finish her sentence as two putties smashed through their front window and rushed straight for Lily. They didn't make it. Lara put them down with two swift moves. By then, however, scores of putties flooded into their living room and surrounded the pair of them. The sisters found themselves in an all out brawl but the majority of them seemed focussed on Lily. Lara fought through wave after wave of them and tried to reach her sister but a wall of putties kept them separated.

Lily, meanwhile, followed her sister's lead and battled the putties as best she could. She was a formidable fighter and the putties had all sorts of problems surrounding her completely. It took fifteen of them to finally hold her still. Lara's rage took hold in that moment and she started felling putties left and right. But the sheer, overwhelming numbers kept her away from her younger sister and eventually Lara didn't check behind her and three putties tackled her to the floor and kept her pinned.

They knocked Lily unconscious and carried her out the window before Lara managed to wrestle the putties off of her. She took out what felt like legions of them to reach her sister but the moment they had her outside they all disappeared in a flash. Lara rushed to the window and jumped outside. She ran around the block in search of them and found no sign that they had ever been there save for the broken window of their house. A loud beep emanated from the watch at her wrist and she pressed a button on the side, raising it to her mouth.

"Go ahead," she said, her voice shaking with rage.

"Lara, I'm bringing you to us. Something terrible is happening."

"You're goddamn right it is. You'd better have a way to get her back."

"We will, Lara. Prepare for teleportation."

Lara lowered her wrist and heaved deep, angry breaths as the yellow light engulfed her and she disappeared from her house.-

* * *

\- "Boy, when I come in that room you better have that bloody TV turned off." Kiera's voice boomed throughout the house and caused Gavin to panic. He dropped his controller on the floor and rushed across the room to shut off his TV. He shut off the lamp on his nightstand and scrambled under the covers just as heavy footsteps approached his bedroom door. He shut his eyes and did his best to lay perfectly still when he heard the door open.

Kiera loomed over Gavin's bed and placed one hand on her hip.

"Gavin," she said softly.

The boy shuffled under the covers and blinked his eyes a few times. He flipped himself over to face Kiera and rubbed his eyes, feigning a yawn.

"What's wrong, Kiera?"

"Nice try," she said.

"What do you mean?"

She pointed to the console beside the television across the room.

"It's still on," Kiera said. "I can see the little white light."

Gavin sat up straight.

"Oh, I must have forgotten to turn it off. That was hours ago," he said.

"That was seconds ago. I heard you rustling around in here. You should be asleep."

"I was."

Kiera rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, okay. Go to bed. You've got school in the morning."

"I know."

"And _I_ know that you've been falling asleep in class because you stay up too late playing those damn games."

Gavin didn't say anything. Kiera sat down on the end of his bed.

"I'm not angry. I just want you to do well in everything you do. And that's awful hard if you can't stay awake for the important stuff. All right?"

"Yeah, I get it," Gavin said.

"I know you do," Kiera said. "Now all you have to do is show me that you get it. Play your games during the day but get your rest when you can at night. Trust me. When you're an adult you'll wish you'd slept your whole damn life. Rest, learn about the world, and be good to people. That's all I've ever taught you, isn't it?"

Gavin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Now if you don't want this lecture again tomorrow night you know what to do, right?"

"Yeah."

"And what are you going to do tomorrow night?"

"Go to sleep."

"Go to sleep when?"

Gavin rolled his eyes this time.

"When it's time to go to sleep."

"Which is when, Gavin?"

Gavin huffed and laid down.

"When you say so."

"That's right. It's not an unreasonable time, is it?"

"No."

"Good. Then I think we've learned a valuable lesson tonight. Right, Gavin?"

"Sure, Kiera," Gavin said with a yawn. "Can you at least let me go to sleep now?"

"Turn off your console and I will," Kiera said.

Gavin sat up again. He looked Kiera in the eye and slid down from his bed. He crossed the room and turned off the console. Once he climbed back into bed, Kiera stood up again.

"I'll be back if that TV comes on again," Kiera said. "Go to sleep."

"I know you will," Gavin said, turning over and facing away from Kiera. She shut off his light on the way out of the room.

"Good night, Gavin."

"Night."

She closed the door and wandered back outside to the barn and the broken down tractor. A low rumble echoed across the sky and light rain tapped against the roof of the barn while she worked. Kiera fought with a stubborn head bolt inside the tractor's engine for a few seconds. Glass shattered somewhere behind the barn and Kiera went still. All of her muscles tensed. Another familiar sound reached her ears; the odd ululations of the cursed putties. Lightning cracked the sky and a powerful clap of thunder shook the barn around her. Kiera heard nothing but white noise.

The front door of the house broke free of its hinges and slammed to the floor. A putty rushed the shape that appeared in the doorway but a heavy pry bar rattled its skull and a heavy fist flattened the 'Z' on its chest. When the thing broke apart, three more ran for the doorway. They hardly saw the enraged blur that shattered each of them to pieces.

Kiera heard a scream from Gavin's room.

"I'm coming," she called. Those two words were more than just a promise. They were a proclamation. They were a warning.

Kiera's mighty shoulder met the bedroom door but it only opened a few inches. It took four putties to hold it back. The Red Ranger gritted her teeth and used every last ounce of her strength to push through the door.

The four putties could no longer hold on and found themselves being inched backward. Two more joined in but the pushing stopped and they closed the door again. Two of them picked up Gavin, who fought and kicked against them while they carried him toward his broken window. The remaining four relaxed for a moment when they realized Kiera was no longer pushing against the door.

It was too late to even realize their mistake when the bedroom door crashed down onto them. The creatures themselves almost never felt fear but their ululations became more shrill when the raging beast at the door burst into the room. They scrambled for the window but it became too crowded for all of them to escape. One of the putties fell to the floor. A steel pry bar pummelled it to nothing. Another ran toward the door, grabbing at the monster that attacked its allies. The pry bar met its chin and it tumbled to the floor. It didn't see the second heavy hit that turned it to dust.

The two that carried Gavin scrambled out the window and shuffled out into the driving rain. No more putties made it out of that room intact.

"Kiera!"

"Gavin!" the voice that met the boy's ears did not sound like Kiera. The voice he heard was a woman's voice to be certain. But it was so guttural and malicious Gavin felt sure that some other monster had crept into the house with the ones that carried him now.

The snarling, seething demon smashed the remaining glass of the window and scoured the darkness outside the house. She called out the boy's name again.

"Gavin!"

Only the rain answered her.

"Gavin!"

She moved forward with heavy steps and her eyes searched the empty field in front of her. No single trace remained that the putties had ever been there. They had disappeared with Gavin. She heard her breathing before she felt it. Deep wheezes of rage shook her body and she heard herself sobbing. She ground her teeth together and grimaced at the sudden pain of loss. Kiera slammed the pry bar into the muddy earth beneath her. Tears stung her cheeks and mixed with the rain that pounded against her face. She collapsed to the ground on all fours and swallowed hard and slowed her breathing. It took her several minutes to realize that the watch on her wrist had been beeping. When she raised it to her mouth she didn't even give Zordon the chance to speak.

"Beam me in. Now."

"Kiera? Is that you?"

" _Do it!"_

The words burst forth from her mouth in a snarl and Zordon said nothing more. A bright flash of red light engulfed Kiera's form and she disappeared.-

* * *

\- Only Lara didn't shrink back at the sight of their leader. She stood right up beside her and the pair of them glared up at Zordon.

" _How did they know?"_ Even Lara failed to recognize the Red Ranger's voice when she spoke. Zordon looked solemn but his stoic facade did not shatter.

"We don't know. An encrypted entity accessed our data and Alpha only just found-"

Two fists pounded the console.

" _Why didn't you have any precautions?"_

"We did. But Zedd must have someone with great-"

" _Enough excuses!"_

"Kiera, please, everyone here is on your side. We will do everything we can to-"

" _Words mean fucking nothing! Bull Soul Beast!"_

Kiera morphed into her Ranger form in front of them all. No one dared make a move.

"What are you doing?"

" _What you refuse to! I'm finding Zedd's ship!"_

"You can't do that alone. And we don't know where it has gone. But we will find it, Kiera. That's what I'm sending you all out to do."

Kiera cleared her throat and took in several deep breaths. She removed her helmet.

"Where?" her voice had calmed but the snarl still wouldn't leave it.

"Goldar and a group of putties has appeared at the shipyard. He is holding Ayla's friend there hostage."

"So that's what happened to Mark," Ayla said.

"Mark?" Lara straightened her back and turned around. She stepped closer to Ayla. "Mark was with you?"

"Disappeared just after Nima," Ayla said. "She called me while they attacked her, got cut off, and I was attacked. They got to Mark before I could stop them."

Lara nodded. "Just like with Lily."

Kiera realized then that the same thing happened to all five Rangers. Her eyes met Arthur's first. Arthur nodded.

"My wife," he said. "Rochelle."

Kiera and Cal exchanged glances then.

"Your brother?" Kiera asked.

"Ben, yeah," Cal said.

The Red Ranger took in another deep breath and placed the helmet back on her head. She didn't turn around to face Zordon.

"Send us out then," she said.

"Before you go, Alpha has a device that will track Goldar's warp signature but it must remain close enough to him to find it. Once we have the signature we'll know where Zedd's ship is and where it's headed."

"I'll take it," Arthur said.

Alpha handed Arthur a device the size of a calculator with a telescopic antenna on the end of it.

"Just press the green button when you get near Goldar," Alpha said, pointing to a large, green button on the left side of the device.

Arthur nodded and patted Alpha on the shoulder. The robot slumped his shoulders forward and shook his head.

"Thank you, Alpha."

"We'll be here tracking the signal. I'll do everything I can to help you."

"I know you will."

"Shut up already," Lara said. "We need to go."

"I'll send you out now," Zordon said. "Power be with you, Rangers."-

* * *

\- Sharp pain in his chest jolted him awake and he struggled to sit up straight. A gold-coloured, blurry figure loomed over him and it laughed a deep, gravelled laugh.

"Wakey wakey," it said.

Mark felt his own handcuffs bite into his wrists. They were held behind his back. He couldn't remember what happened.

"Where am I?"

Something heavy struck him in the side of the head and he fell over onto his side.

"No questions, human. The fog will clear and you will soon see."

He grunted with the effort of sitting up straight again. His vision still did not clear but Mark discerned that he was on a rooftop. A hundred thoughts raced through his mind and he closed his eyes. _Breathe in, breathe out, count the lights._ Mark began counting the street lights on the street of his childhood. He saw the darkened street in his mind's eye. The words of his therapist entered his mind and he focussed on the lights, like he said. A laugh and a growl brought him back to reality.

"Your stress has not yet begun, human," the rough voice said. "Nothing will help you cope."

Mark forced his eyes open and his vision had cleared somewhat. The blurry, gold shape was in fact the winged creature that had been spotted engaging the Rangers on the first day they showed up. He'd only ever stared at pictures of the thing before. It had to stand almost seven feet tall. It had been months since the creature had been seen.

"Your friend abandoned you, human. You are alone."

Mark spotted it before the creature did. Five flashes of different coloured light appeared just off in the distance near the main dry dock. He smirked.

Goldar bared his teeth at the human and snarled.

"Does something amuse you, human?"

"Take a look for yourself," Mark said.

Goldar stepped to the edge of the warehouse roof and spotted five people in the distance behind his mass of putties. He chortled.

"Excellent. Just as planned."

Lara was the first to notice that Goldar had spotted them. In her morphed form she pointed to the gilded creature and drew her thumb across her throat. She drew the curved blade at her hip.

"He's seen us," Lara said.

"Who?" Cal asked.

"The gold fucker up there."

Cal and Ayla stepped up beside Lara and drew their weapons as well. Kiera stiffened her posture and stared down the putties.

"Stick to the plan," Kiera said. "You three keep his attention. I'll keep these putties off Arthur while he works the tracking device."

"Let's go," Lara said.

The three of them leapt into a throng of putties and cut through them on their way to the warehouse. Kiera charged at one and ran it through with her sword.

"Over here, you pieces of shit!"

Kiera now had the attention of most of the putties in front of her. They rushed straight for her and she braced herself.

"I'll help you as much as I can, Kiera," Arthur said.

"Just focus on finding that warp signature. I've got them."

Five of them reached Kiera. Each one found themselves flying backward or impaled on the end of Kiera's blade.

While she fought, Arthur held down the green button on the tracking device as Alpha had showed him. He attached it to the belt on his hip and made sure it held steady. He gripped his two shuriken in his hand and stepped back. He let them fly into the skulls of two putties on Kiera's flank. They returned to him and he lined up another throw.-

* * *

-Goldar and Lara's blades clashed when they met. Lara ducked out of the way of Goldar's free hand and he closed his clutching hand on thin air. When he moved to swing at Lara he felt a sharp pain in his back from a heavy hit. Cal's axe dented his golden armour and made him stumble forward. Ayla threw a devastating punch to the creature's head as he fell forward and knocked him on his back.

Lara tried to slice open his throat with a precision cut but Goldar rolled away and got back to his feet. Cal came at him again but Goldar deflected the green axe and grabbed Cal by the throat and held him off the ground. He threw him into a nearby shipping crate but the second he did, Ayla attacked him from the left and buried a dagger into his shoulder. At the same time, Lara swept out Goldar's legs and shoved him onto his back again.

It took Cal a few seconds to stumble back to his feet. He picked up his axe from the ground in front of him and shook off the pain in his back. He rejoined the fray with Goldar getting back up again. Cal's axe sunk into the creature's right haunch and Goldar howled. Lara and Ayla both attacked at the same time and took Goldar to the ground once more. Cal stepped on his arm and batted Goldar's sword several feet away. The gold beast dared not move with three weapons now pointed in his face.-

-The putties were dropping like flies and some were fleeing from the raging monster that thrashed in the middle of their group. All of Kiera's pent up rage emerged in the endless battle with the throngs of putties and she showed them no mercy.

Arthur took out any that seemed to have her flanked but he was sure to stay out of the melee to protect Alpha's device.

With their numbers nearly depleted, the last of the putties fled from the Red Ranger any way they could. Several jumped into the water while others scrambled up buildings. Kiera chased down as many as she could to cut them down. While her battle raged, Arthur heard a voice speak into his helmet.

"We've got it, Arthur." The high-pitched robotic voice of Alpha was music to his ears. Arthur tapped his helmet.

"You're sure?"

"Zordon just confirmed it. We've got the signal. We know where Zedd's ship is."

"Great. I'll tell the others."

Arthur watched Kiera run her sword through the back of a putty. He called to her. She stopped her fighting and the rest of the putties ran away. Kiera took in several deep breaths.

"Have they got it?"

"They've got it."

Kiera said nothing more and joined up with the other three. Goldar lay on the ground, bruised and bleeding. Lara's hand twitched on the hilt of her cutlass. Kiera held up a hand to her. When Arthur joined them, Kiera knelt down close to Goldar's face.

"Where's Zedd running to?"

"I'll tell you nothing, Red Ranger. You're a fool to even ask."

"My friend is feeling twitchy," Kiera said. "And I know she wants to see the colour of your insides. So what's it going to be?"

"Kiera, wait-"

"Not now, Art," Lara said.

Goldar chuckled.

"It is too late. You'll never see your loved ones again."

Kiera stood back up and met eyes with Lara. She nodded to the Yellow Ranger.

"This isn't right," Ayla said.

"What isn't right is not knowing where my fucking sister is headed," Lara said.

"Ayla's right," Arthur said. "We don't torture people. Even if it's some gold armoured monster."

"Quiet," Kiera said. She paused and glared down at Goldar. He bared his teeth at her in a malicious smile. "Do it, Lara," she said.

"Lara, no!"

Arthur couldn't stop his cousin but before she could cut him open, Goldar tapped his chest and disappeared. Lara growled.

"God damn it," she said. "He would have told us where they're going."

"It doesn't matter where they're going," Arthur said. "Zordon and Alpha know where Zedd's ship is. They can send us there and we can get them back."

Lara sheathed her cutlass again. She let out a long breath and let her eyes drift upward to the police officer still on the warehouse roof.

"We should help him at least," she said.

Ayla started moving before Lara had finished speaking. She scaled the corrugated walls and removed the cuffs from Mark's wrists.

"Help me get him down," she said.

The other four Rangers gathered below. Ayla knelt down in front of Mark. They met each other's eyes for a second.

"Thank you," he said.

"Hold on as tight as you can," Ayla said.

She cradled Mark's legs and torso and carried him to the edge of the roof. The others boosted Kiera up to grab onto the police officer and they lowered him gently to the ground. Ayla jumped down from the low roof and landed in the middle of her allies.

"Someone call him an ambulance," she said.

"Anonymous call already made," Arthur said. "They're on their way."

"All right then," Kiera said. She tapped the side of her helmet. "Zordon, bring us in."

The five of them disappeared in flashes of coloured light.-

* * *

\- "Rangers, it's worse than I feared," Zordon said. His grim voice echoed from the holographic projection above them. The Rangers were still morphed but had removed their helmets within the command centre. Kiera leaned against the console in front of Zordon. Alpha shrunk back and hid behind Arthur when she glared into Zordon's eyes.

"How could it be worse?" she asked, her voice low and menacing.

"Zedd's ship is well outside of our Solar System. He is headed for Omega-4."

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Kiera asked with a snarl to her voice.

"It is a terrible planet that houses the worst criminals of the galaxy."

"The whole planet is a prison?"

Yes," Zordon said. "And none have ever escaped. It's atmosphere is surrounded by a signal jamming field and laser cannon satellites target the prisoners there around the clock. Should any prisoner come within a ten mile radius of the satellites they are incinerated."

Kiera swallowed hard.

"So he's taking all those innocent people there?"

"He is, Kiera. But I fear that his goal is trap you Rangers on that planet."

"So they're bait then?"

"It looks that way."

Kiera stepped back from the console and massaged her temples. Alpha stepped forward and reached out for her. He placed a hand on her back and patted her gently. Kiera flinched at the touch and Alpha skittered away when she turned around to face him. He hid behind Arthur again. Kiera took in a heavy breath and tried her best to soften her gaze for the friendly robot.

"Alpha..." Kiera could not think of anything to say to him. Her buried rage boiled within again and she glared back up at Zordon.

"You need to send us to Zedd's ship."

"It's a big risk, Kiera. The Earth cannot afford to lose you."

"What are you saying? If you don't send us, Zordon, I swear I'll break into that fucking dimension of yours and-"

"Easy, Kiera. I never said I wouldn't send you. But I must warn you to do this as quickly as you can. If Zedd's ship gets too close to Omega-4's atmosphere then Alpha and I will not be able to bring you back."

"Fine by me," Lara said. "More time for us alone with Zedd."

"Please, Lara. I need all of you to focus. Stay to your task and bring back your loved ones. The Earth can ill afford to lose you. And I..." Zordon stopped himself. He gave his head a shake and cleared his throat. "Return to us, Rangers. Please."

"Just send us," Kiera said. "And we'll do what we can."

The five of them put their helmets back on and Zordon took in a deep breath. He nodded to Alpha.

"Power protect you, Rangers. Always."

They said nothing more and Alpha beamed the five Rangers away to Zedd's ship. His shoulders slumped forward and the robot hung his head.

"She'll guide them, Alpha," he said.

"Kiera, she... I don't like seeing her like this."

"Neither do I, Alpha. But she has led them before. She will do so again."-

* * *

-Zedd's throne room did not stir with even a flicker of activity. The silence of the room could have driven anyone insane. From the corner of the room, shrouded in shadow, a silent figure kept a vigilant eye on the balcony. The dim light did nothing to hide the pure white cloak that covered the figure's body and the hood that hid their face. They gripped a heavy, white staff with a hand half covered by a fingerless glove. Kept shrouded by the darkness of the corner, the figure melted away into the shadows when five bright lights illuminated the room.

Kiera took one step forward and half expected to see Zedd seated before them. The empty throne was their only company inside the empty, silent room. Behind the throne she spotted a wide doorway. The team followed her to the doorway. A long corridor stretched way off in two directions.

"We need to cover as much ground as possible," Kiera said. "We need to pair off."

"You sure it's wise to split up?" Ayla asked.

"We've got no choice. We need to do this quickly. You heard what Zordon said."

"As long as nobody goes in alone," Cal said. He stared at Lara while saying it.

"Now's not the time," Lara snapped back.

"Cal, you're with me," Kiera said. "We'll take the right. The rest of you head left. Lara, you take the lead. Ayla, watch her back. Arthur, stay close to Ayla. Let's go."

The team split off without another word. Cal kept close to Kiera's back. He gripped the axe tight in his hand. They moved together through a corridor that seemed to stretch forever forward. Kiera stopped them when she heard something move above them. Four putties then dropped down from the ceiling and landed on either side of them. Kiera didn't have time to draw her sword but she dispatched of the two in front of her like they were nothing. Cal battered the other two with his axe and the threat disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

They came to a left hand corner. Another corridor stretched on in front of them but this time a single doorway broke the uniformity of the black, metal hallway. Kiera pulled Cal to the wall and stalked across to the other side of the doorway. They stood on either side of the doorway and peered inside.

The square, featureless room was made of the same black metal as the corridors that surrounded them. Part of the room had been sectioned off at the back and pale blue beams of light surrounded the rectangular area as prison bars. A tall, dark-haired woman stood inside the cell with her hands bound in front of her by some strange shackles the same colour as the beams of light. A putty stood on either side of the room and kept their stares fixed upon the woman in the cell.

A third figure, seated on a dark wooden chair, kept laser focus on her. Kiera noted that the seated person had a strange insect sort of quality about them. It wore a thick, brown trench coat and combat boots but its dark blue head appeared to be shaped like a butterfly's head from the back. Its dark blue skin didn't look like skin at all. It had more of an exoskeletal quality.

The pair of them ducked back into the corridor again and exchanged glances.

"Is that Rochelle?" Kiera asked, keeping her voice low.

"I've only met her once but it looks like her," Cal replied.

"All right then. Let's go."

Kiera pulled her sword from its sheath and charged into the room. Cal rushed in just behind her and the two putties each picked a target. When they were taken care of, the figure in the chair stood up to face them. It's eyes bulged out to the side and it's thin tongue snaked out of the thin mouth at the bottom of its head. It raised its arms and produced a sharp claw on each arm like a praying mantis. The thing hissed and ran at Kiera first.-

* * *

-Lara stopped at the corner that turned to the right and found a wide doorway. She waved the other two forward and peered inside the room. When Ayla reached her side, Lara nodded toward the room.

"Is that your sister?" Lara asked.

Ayla looked to the corner of the room and saw two cells surrounded by pale blue beams of light. Each contained a person with their hands bound in front of them. The one on the right held a broad-shouldered man with a trimmed, brown beard on his face. The left cell, however, contained a tall, dark-skinned woman with shining, black hair. She stood with a wide, bracing stance and stared at the door. She smirked when she noticed Ayla poke her head around the corner.

"That's Nima," Ayla whispered.

"What about Rochelle?" Arthur asked from behind them.

"I'm sorry, Art. She's not in there."

"But Cal's brother is," Ayla said.

Arthur just nodded and reached to his hip for the Shuriken. Lara scanned the room.

"Four putties," she said.

"Seems light," Ayla said. "Like it's a trap."

"Have to take the risk," Lara said. "Let's get in there."

The three of them took care of the putties in short order. Even with no one else in the room, Lara refused to relax. She kept a firm grip on her cutlass and waited for something else to happen. Her muscles tensed. It felt like someone had their eyes on her. She watched the two prisoners and both of them reacted as though to warn her.

Lara didn't wait for them to say anything and whirled around. Her cutlass clanged against a bright white staff and she came face to face with a woman in a white cloak. Her face was dark but her eyes were pale and grey. She had short, black hair that hung down to the base of her neck. She and Lara stood at almost the same height. The wordless woman and Lara just stared at each other for a moment before Lara tried to swing at her again. The woman moved quicker than any human Lara had ever seen and dashed out of harm's way. She seemed to fade into the shadows around them. A voice echoed off the walls of the room.

"We are not to cross blades yet, Yellow Ranger."

"Show yourself, you fucking scumbag," Lara said.

"I have no quarrel with you yet. Go on and free your loved ones. I will not stop you."

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Believe what you will," the voice said. "Zedd is a temporary ally. I owe him nothing. So I will not stop you."

"Why work with him then?"

"Watch for my sign," the voice said, ignoring the question. "When the Knight falls to Earth, we will meet again."

"What are you talking about?"

The three Rangers backed up toward each other and waited for an answer. Only the dull hum of the cells rang in their ears.

"Come back here!"

Lara still received no answer. It took her a few moments to relax and turn her attention to the prisoners in their cells.

"Are you both all right?" she asked.

"All things considered," the man said. "I'd say yes."

"He's got a point," Nima said. She flashed the Black Ranger a smile.

"Did you see any other people come in with you?"

"I remember this big, blonde woman," the man said. "And a young kid, I think. But no one else."

"Do you know where they took them?"

"No, sorry," the man said.

"I heard a woman arguing with someone down this hallway. Sounded like she tried to fight back," Nima said.

"Straight ahead of us?" Lara asked.

"I think so. I can't be sure, though. We've been in here pretty much the whole time."

"You know how to get these things open?" Ayla asked.

"There's some switch on the wall over there behind you," Nima replied, pointing to the opposite corner of the room.

"And the cuffs?"

"That spooky red guy had this glowing key on his hip. You'd have to ask him," the man said. "And he doesn't exactly look like the approachable type."

Ayla flipped a heavy switch on the wall and the beams of light dissipated. The two people stepped out of the cells and joined the Rangers.

"All right. Get them back to Zordon," Lara said. "I'm going on ahead."

"Wait. You can't go in alone," Arthur said.

"I'll meet up with the others. Just get them out of here. We don't have time to lose."

Arthur hesitated but he tapped the side of his helmet.

"Alpha. We've got two to bring back. Do you have our signal?"

"Yes, Arthur!" Alpha sounded excited to hear from him. "Who am I beaming back?"

"Me and the Black Ranger."

"Okay. Hold tight to your passengers."

Arthur held out an arm to the big man in front of him.

"Hang on," he said.

"For what?"

"We're beaming out of here," Arthur said.

Nima took hold of Ayla and couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

"Don't I know you, Black Ranger?"

Ayla said nothing and the four of them disappeared in beams of light. Lara was now alone. She took off back down the corridor in the direction they had come and scoured the halls for Cal and Kiera.-

* * *

-The green axe was still lodged in the creature's back when it spun around and lashed out at Cal with one of its claws. The serrated edge didn't dig in but the force of the impact still knocked Cal flying backward into the wall. The blue thing blocked Kiera's sword with its other arm and sparks flew when it ground its claw against the sword's edge.

Kiera stepped back and planted herself. The creature swung both claws at her head and she ducked underneath. She buried the tip of the sword into the thing's chest but it became stuck in the exoskeleton and it dislodged the weapon from her grasp. It hissed in pain and flailed its claws at her again.

Cal groaned when he pulled himself up. He heard someone speak from behind him.

"Are you all right?"

Cal turned his head and noticed the woman in the cell staring at him.

"I will be in a minute," he said.

He ran toward the creature and lowered his shoulder. Their shoulders collided and the creature fell off balance and stumbled. Cal grunted from the impact but he had enough to time get his hands on his axe again. He pried it out of the thing's back and it screeched and flailed its claws at him this time. Cal struck out at Kiera's sword and managed to knock it loose. It clattered to the floor and Kiera lunged for it. When it was in her hands again she jammed it into the same gash in the creature's hard hide. It went in deeper this time and she twisted the blade. It cracked the hard outer shell and green blood seeped from the wound. Cal took his chance as well and slammed the axe down on the same spot he had pried it from on the creature's back. The exoskeleton shattered in massive chunks and a gaping hole in its back exposed its soft insides.

Kiera tripped the creature so it fell down face first and both of them hammered down on the exposed wound. One final screaming hiss of pain emanated from the creature and it went limp on the floor. It exploded into pieces and disappeared, leaving nothing but a green smear on the floor.

"Well that was fucking gross," Cal said.

Kiera said nothing and sheathed the sword at her side. She stared at the woman within the cell.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm more worried about you two, to be honest," she said. "That was a brutal fight."

"Don't worry about us," Kiera said. "Is there a way to open that cell?"

"That... thing flipped something on the wall over there but I didn't see. I couldn't stand looking at it."

"I don't blame you," Cal said.

Kiera searched the wall and found a heavy switch. When she flipped it the beams of light faded away and she stepped forward.

"Was anyone else brought in with you?" Kiera asked.

"I don't know. I've been alone with those things the whole time. They could have. I've heard a lot of people moving around outside this room and I thought I heard a young boy's voice. But I haven't seen anyone until you two showed up."

"Did you hear where the boy's voice came from?"

"Down that last hallway, I think. But it's hard to tell which way is which in here."

Kiera stepped back to the doorway.

"Get her back to Zordon."

"What about you?"

"Our job isn't done. I'll meet up with the others and see if I can help them."

"But we still haven't found-"

"I know. But we're here to save people and I want us to save who we can when we can. There's no time. So get her back to Zordon."

Cal sighed.

"All right." He looked the woman in the eye. "Hang on to me."

"What are you doing?"

"Our, um, commander I guess, is going to teleport us back to Earth. I'm calling him now."

Cal tapped his helmet.

"Zordon?"

"What is it, Cal?"

"I've got someone with me. Can you bring me back?"

"I have your signal, yes. But tell Kiera and Lara to hurry. They're almost out of our range."

"I think they know, Zordon," Cal said, his voice grim.

Zordon paused.

"Very well. We'll get you back here."

The two of them were enveloped by green light and disappeared together. Kiera walked back out into the hallway and only made it a few steps before she ran into Lara.

"Where's Cal?"

"Home," Kiera said. "We found Rochelle."

"Oh, good," Lara said. "We found Nima and Ben."

"So then Ayla and Arthur are back home, too?"

"They are."

They both went silent and turned their focus on the long corridor in front of them.

"No sign of Gavin?" Lara asked.

"None yet. Rochelle said she might have heard him," Kiera said.

"Ben said he saw him. And Lily."

"Then let's go."

"I'm with you."

The pair of them walked together down the yawning hallway. It opened out into a large room at the end. They moved without a word to each other and drew their blades. A few putties rushed into the corridor from the room in front of them but they were cut down in seconds. When they reached the wide room the first thing they saw was Lord Zedd. He sat stop a smaller throne than the one in his throne room. He chuckled at the sight of them.

On either side of the throne, two small cells contained two different people. On the left, a tall, muscular woman kept her eyes focussed on the young boy in the cell on the right. She spoke calmly to him and did everything she could to comfort him and allay his fears. The boy, with tears in his eyes, listened intently to the blonde woman speaking to him and struggled to keep his breathing steady.

Zedd remained seated in his throne. He raised his right hand and a door behind him opened. Goldar stepped out from behind the throne and drew his sword. He roared and laughed at the two Rangers in the doorway. Kiera and Lara stared at each other for a moment.

"We killing him this time?" Lara asked.

"He's in the way," Kiera said. "I say we do what it takes."

Lara said nothing more but she smiled her malicious smile beneath her helmet.

Goldar laughed and roared again but he was cut off when a long, red blade sliced into his shoulder. He stumbled backward and tried to brace himself but a yellow blur appeared in the side of his vision and cut through the armour on his leg. Black blood poured out onto the floor and Goldar jumped back. He attempted to adopt a fighting stance but he was knocked off balance by a brutal and heavy kick to the chest from the red monster that stood in front of him. Another blade sliced into his back and deeply cut into the base of one of his wings. He didn't see which of them swept out his legs from under him but Goldar slammed to the floor on his back. They stood over him then. One, bright and raging red, plunged her sword into his stomach and he roared in pain. The other, yellow and angry, cut downward with her blade and sliced open a deep gash on his throat. Goldar choked on the blood that filled his windpipe and collapsed onto the floor. The world around him faded to black and soon Goldar saw nothing more.

The two rangers heard a deep, throaty laugh from the throne in front of them. Zedd snapped his fingers and his silver staff appeared in his hand. He stood up from his throne and approached them.

"Impressive," he said. "I could almost like the two of you."

Kiera stopped Zedd in his tracks when she held the tip of her sword to his throat.

"Give me a reason," she said.

Zedd chuckled again.

"We've nearly reached Omega-4. You only have minutes until your precious Zordon will never see you again," he said.

"You let those two go," Lara said. "Soon as they're out of here it'll be just the three of us."

"I let them go on the condition that you spare me, Yellow Ranger. Would you risk a fight with me? That would waste precious time. And after you kill me, what will you do? Omega-4's security will find you and you'll both spend an eternity in a prison of hell."

Kiera took a tiny step forward and pressed the tip of her sword against Zedd's throat.

"Let them go, Zedd."

"I must admit, I'm impressed you found my ship so quickly. I'm usually disappointed when my plans fail but this time... this time is different. After your display with Goldar, well, you have put ideas into my head."

Kiera took another step forward but Zedd deflected her sword with his staff. They stared each other down.

"I'll open the cells if you allow me to leave this room," Zedd said. "Or else all of you will be transported to Omega-4. Make your choice."

Kiera weighed the options in her head. Lara took a step forward and stood beside her.

"We need to get them out of here," Lara said.

Kiera's brain tossed every decision back and forth. She wanted Zedd to die but she could feel Gavin's pleading eyes staring at her. She placed her sword back in its sheath.

"Open the cells," Kiera said. "And then get lost."

Zedd chuckled once more.

"As you command, Red Ranger."

Zedd took several careful steps backward and raised a small device in his hand. He clicked a button and the light beams around the cells shut off. Gavin and Lily ran to the two Rangers' sides. Kiera continued to stare down Zedd while she tapped the side of her helmet.

"Zordon can you read me?"

"Yes... are you... to retur..."

"Zordon, you're breaking up. Do you have our signal?"

Kiera didn't hear an answer. Gavin clutched onto her tightly. She listened for Zordon's answer but only static came through. She finally got her answer when she and Lara were teleported away in red and yellow light with their loved ones hanging on.

Zedd returned to his main throne room and sat down in it. His eyes glowed red and he chuckled to himself.

"Gravus," he called.

A shadowy being entered the room and spoke in a distorted voice.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Commence Project Phoenix. And send for The Shroud. I'd like to speak to her."

"At once, Lord Zedd."

The shadowy being dissipated into smoke and Zedd leaned back in his throne. He let loose a deep, growling laugh and kept his thoughts on the two impressive Rangers. Perhaps Project Phoenix would be the answer he had been seeking.


	6. The Pale Moonlight

**Chapter 6: The Pale Moonlight**

(Part One of the Silver Saga)

Dozens of machines whirred to life around the cold, grey room. A blank, square mould of clay lay upon a long operating table with myriad wires and tubes protruding from it. Dark, shadowy creatures surrounded the table and remained still. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Zedd sat across the room on a tall chair. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair and growled under his breath. The Lord clutched his silver staff in the other hand with an iron grip. Seconds ticked by in what felt like hours. Minutes passed in what felt like days. A voice from the corner drew Zedd's attention.

"Is everything ready?"

Zedd couldn't see the speaker and he groaned to himself.

"Cease your shadow games, Shroud. Do you have it?"

A disc in a plastic case fell onto his lap and a woman in a white cloak appeared beside him.

"Does that answer your question?"

Zedd held the disc up to the light and eyed it. It was much smaller than he had been expecting.

"You're certain this is him?"

"A secret military project," the Shroud said, seeming to ignore his question. "Codename: Xanadu. For storing select, unaware subjects' consciousness on AI discs. The goal is to create an immortal army of the most skilled soldiers when the technology is ready."

"Do we not already-"

The Shroud cut him off.

"This subject's name is Russell Ellis, former Captain of Silver Squad in the 45th Light Infantry Battalion. Expert in several martial arts and top class marksman. Killed in action six years ago."

The Shroud leaned down into Zedd's face.

"This would not be in your hand were I uncertain, Zedd."

" _Lord_ Zedd," he corrected.

The Shroud narrowed her gaze.

"You've done nothing to earn that title. Not until you prove to be more than a mere lackey."

Zedd growled and his eyes glowed red. He pounded the floor with his staff and stood to his full height.

"You dare-"

"I do, _Zedd._ "

Lord Zedd could not stop his rage. He swung his staff at the Shroud's head but he felt it knocked clean from his hand with a single, heavy strike. The Shroud's own white staff had appeared in her hand and she stopped short of striking Zedd's head.

"You would chance a fight with me, Zedd?"

In any fight with The Shroud Zedd knew he would be overmatched. So he slowed his breathing and pushed the rage aside. He turned away from The Shroud and crossed the room to where the shadow beings waited.

"Merge this with the program, Gravus," Zedd said, handing the disk to the tallest of the shadow beings.

"What then, my Lord?"

"Proceed to the final phase," Zedd growled.

"Of course, my Lord."

When Zedd returned to his throne, The Shroud stood there still, waiting. He sat down, trying to put her out of his mind. But he had a task for her.

"Shroud," he said. "Can you access Zordon's Morphing Grid?"

"I can."

"Then the time has come. You know what must be done."

The Shroud lowered herself into Zedd's face again.

"For your sake, this had better work. If the Knight does not respond-"

"The Knight will respond, Shroud. Mark my words. The Knight will have no choice but to respond. She will detect your presence within the Morphing Grid and will come hunting for you. I knew the Knights of Soul, Shroud. Just because only one remains alive does not mean that she will ignore her duty. Have patience. The Knight will respond."

The Shroud smirked.

"Who are you trying to convince? Me? Or you?"

Zedd didn't answer. The Shroud disappeared and he stared at his underlings doing their work. He waited in silence as they entered the final code and The Shroud stood over the mass of clay with a silver Power Morpher.-

* * *

-When Kiera entered the barn, Gavin lowered his head and pretended to still be working on the tractor. He couldn't seem to look at Kiera the same way anymore and she knew it. She leaned on the tractor beside him and kept her eyes fixed on him.

"Gavin," she said, softly.

"Hi, Kiera."

"What are you doing out here?"

"What does it look like?"

"I thought we were going to do this together."

"We are. You're here, aren't you? And you work on it alone all the time."

"That's true," Kiera said. She paused for a few moments. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," Gavin said. "I just thought I might be able to get it started and I wanted to surprise you. You, um, you deserve a good surprise."

Kiera smiled.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

He looked her right in the eye this time. His eyes shone and he couldn't hold her gaze for long.

"You know. After what happened. I know it upset you."

"It was worse for you," Kiera said. "I can't even begin to imagine what it was like."

"I'm glad those Rangers came for us. They were... pretty cool."

"I'll bet. I'm glad they went after you. I don't know what I would have done if you... hadn't come back."

"Lily was pretty cool, too. She fought them and she tried to keep me calm," Gavin said.

"So I heard. I'll have to thank her for that."

"You know who else is pretty cool?"

Kiera furrowed her brow.

"Who, Gavin?"

"The Red Ranger. And you."

"What? How do I belong in that sentence?"

Kiera stifled another smile. He's a damn smart kid, she thought to herself.

"You know how," Gavin said.

He put down his ratchet and threw his arms around Kiera's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

"Gavin, what-"

"Thank you, Kiera."

Kiera wrapped her thick arms around Gavin's shoulders and held him for a while. She fought back tears for some time and then let him go.

"You're so awesome, Kiera. But you're scary."

"Why am I scary?" she asked.

"I think you know."

Kiera didn't need an answer. She did know. The team's reaction, Alpha shrinking away and hiding from her, Zedd's compliments, it all added up. Russ always used to tell her she had 'the devil' inside but she didn't want to believe it. The way she and Lara reacted, the way they killed Goldar, it confirmed it. The devil lived in a tiny, buried part of her soul, sure, but he was always there. She just hoped she could fight him off, too.

"Can I ask you something?" Gavin asked.

"You just did," Kiera said with a chuckle. Gavin rolled his eyes.

"I mean something else."

"Go ahead."

"Do you think you could teach me how to fight like you? I won't do anything stupid, I promise."

"You'd better not. It's not a game, Gavin. It's a form of self discipline. Training keeps you focussed and wise. It doesn't mean picking a fight with everyone you don't like. It's a communion of mind, soul, and body. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I am," Gavin said. "I have to grow up sometime, right?"

"You're not even in high school yet, kid," Kiera said. "Cool your jets on the growing up stuff."

"But still. It might help me like it helped you. Will you do it?"

Kiera let out a long breath and stared into the boy's soft brown eyes. That look always melted her heart.

"Fine. But I get to decide what you learn and how you learn it, understand?"

"All right!" the boy shouted. "Thanks, Kiera."

He hugged her again, making her smile, and when they let go of each other he had another question.

"Where did you learn all that stuff, anyway?"

Kiera never liked to think about the past. She and Gavin had both been through enough before they came together. Neither of them enjoyed talking about it, even with each other. But she and Gavin had each other to lean on and try to put those demons to rest.

"The army," she said, her smile fading. "My squad's captain trained me, even in our spare time. Did I tell you I joined up because of him?"

"I think so. What was his name?"

Kiera swallowed hard when she thought of the name.

"Russ. Russell Ellis."-

* * *

-In the command centre, alarms blared all around Zordon and Alpha. Zordon's mighty voice almost shouted at the robot.

"Alpha! Someone has hacked the Morphing Grid! We need to-" Zordon faded away before he could finish his sentence. Something blocked his signal and static appeared on the giant screen where his head was.

"Zordon! What's happening? Oh dear, oh dear," Alpha said, frantically pressing buttons on the console in front of him. He fought hard to get Zordon back but he stopped when he noticed what Zordon had mentioned. A tiny, silver LED lit up next to the main grid controls for the Morphing Grid. Alpha flew into a panic and worked harder to bring Zordon back.

"Oh no! Someone's stealing the Silver bear!" he said.-

* * *

-The moulded clay shifted in place and began to take on a humanoid shape. Zedd leaned forward and watched the thing begin to jump to life. The Shroud opened a skylight above the table and the silvery light of the moon poured in. She stepped back and folded her arms, watching the clay block form an arm. It reached out for the silver Power Morpher on the table beside it.

After a time, the clay ceased its writhing and the tubes and wires fell away. A fully formed man lay upon the table. He held the Power Morpher in his hand. The silver thing was inlaid with a golden coin engraved with a leaping, roaring bear.

The man gripped the morpher but his eyes remained closed. He appeared to be middle-aged as his wizened face and pure white hair indicated. The hair hung down to the base of his neck and parted neatly in the middle. A thick, scruffy beard covered the lower half of his face and matched his hair. His eyes shot open and and he sat up on the table. He glared around the room with pale, icy blue eyes and they fell upon Zedd. He stood from the table and said something in a grizzled, baritone voice.

"Bear Soul Beast!"

He transformed then and there from a man in a short hospital style gown into a a broad-shouldered Power Ranger. His suit was mostly silver but his boots were accented in gold and black along with his gloves. A gold and black stripe crossed diagonally from left to right across his chest but it was mostly covered by the pure black shield that protected his chest and back. The shoulders of the shield protruded out like pauldrons and the same leaping, roaring bear adorned the centre of it, engraved in silver.

Zedd chuckled to himself as the man approached his chair and drew the heavy mace at his side. He placed the head of the mace on the ground and held on as he bowed before Lord Zedd.

"Rise," Zedd said.

The man stood tall and replaced the mace on his belt. He removed his helmet and the stoic face met the eyes of Lord Zedd.

"Russell Ellis," Zedd began. "You are hereby known as the Silver Ranger. I am your commander, Lord Zedd. I will send you to Earth for your mission."

"And what is my mission?" asked the icy voice of the Silver Ranger.

"Destroy the Power Rangers," Zedd said, with a breathy laugh.-

* * *

-Cal let out a hearty laugh and clapped Ben on the shoulder. His brother chuckled along with him and took a long swig of the beer in his hand.

"You remember the look on his face when he saw me wearing the wig?"

Cal laughed again.

"Man, that killed me. I don't know how you got out of that one alive."

"Almost didn't. Got suspended for a week. Nearly got expelled and I was sure he'd hire someone to kill me," Ben said.

"Yeah, that would have been smart. Imagine the news story. 'Gym Teacher Arrested for Murder of High School Student who Stole and Wore Toupee.'"

Cal couldn't even finish his sentence without laughing again. Ben laughed along with him.

"Hey, that man was out of his mind. There's no telling what he might have done."

Cal took in a long breath and stifled another laugh. He took a sip of his beer and shook his head.

"He hated me for that, you know? I almost failed Gym because of you. He used to scowl when he said my name. He'd spit it at me like a curse word, you know? 'Danton!" Cal said, scowling and doing his best impression of his old high school gym teacher.

"Not my fault he was a vindictive asshole," Ben said with a smirk. "It was just his way of getting back at me. He waited two years for that revenge and, even then, he couldn't do it properly."

""You were gone by then. But, oh man. He remembered me from that day. I still can't believe you did it at an assembly."

Ben chuckled again.

"Yeah. That was a hell of a time," he said.

A faraway look entered Cal's eyes all of a sudden. "Sure was," he said. He watched the bright horizon of the lake. The sun's light twinkled against the crystal clear water. A light breeze tossed a ripple upon the still water.

"Hey you okay, buddy?" Ben asked.

"Sure," Cal said. "All good."

"Don't bullshit me, Cally-boy. You thinking about when I-"

"Don't," Cal said. "Don't bring it up."

"Hey, I'm over it. It was a weird experience, sure, but I'm back. We're here now, right?"

"I guess," Cal said.

"You always were a worry wart, buddy," Ben said.

Ben wrapped one of his powerful arms around his little brother and pulled him closer. He patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on, boy. We were just laughing. Everything's good."

"Is it?" Cal asked. "You're taking what happened way too well, Ben. There's no way it didn't affect you."

No trace of worry crossed Ben's face and he scoffed at Cal's statement.

"Like I said, you worry too much."

"You say you're all right, Ben. But I don't believe you. That shit was... it was scary, man."

"Hey, Cal. I'm fine. Trust me. I got to see those Power Rangers up close, too. They were pretty awesome. That girl in the yellow was super quick. Holy shit. Have you ever seen them?"

Cal stifled a groan and closed his eyes. Great, he thought. Just one more thing to stoke Lara's ego.

"Only on the news," Cal said.

"Well, let me tell you, they were amazing. Wish I could have seen the whole team fight, though."

Cal finished off half a bottle of beer in one go and reached down to the case at his feet. He pulled out another one and offered it to Ben.

"I'm good for now, buddy," Ben said.

Cal popped off the cap and took another sip. He remained silent.

"The part I don't get," Ben continued. "Is why they came after me, specifically? And a bunch of people associated with those new friends of yours. Seems kinda odd, don't you think?"

"Seemed random to me," Cal said. "We just got unlucky."

"That's pretty unlucky for five people to be abducted and have some sort of close relation to each other. Those two friends of yours, the journalist and the professor, they're related right?"

"Yeah," Cal said.

"And the farmer girl. That was her kid that got taken, right?"

Cal didn't answer him this time.

"It was a hell of a way to meet relatives of your friends, Cal. That cop was cool as a cucumber, though. Stayed positive the whole time. I like her."

"I'll be sure to tell Ayla," Cal said.

"How'd you meet all those people, anyway?" Ben asked.

"Work."

"Oh. Were they all clients? Like you defended them in court?"

"Not exactly. Just acquaintances and networking. Shit like that," Cal said.

Ben furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"Still doesn't make any damn sense to me. Why target us? It's like they wanted to... get their attention or something."

"It worked, didn't it?" Cal asked.

"Yeah, but that specific group of us? Why did we get the Rangers attention?"

Ben ruminated on his last question and took a long swig of his beer. When he finished, a smile crept across he face and he beamed at Cal.

"I think I got it," he said.

"Do you?"

"Yeah," Ben said with a wry smirk. "Nice jacket by the way. You always did like green, eh?"

Cal shook his head.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Ben just chuckled.

"Nothing, buddy. Nothing at all."

He wrapped his arm around Cal again and squeezed his shoulder. Cal decided to return the gesture and they both stared out at the lake.

"Thanks, buddy."

"For what?"

"For being you."

Cal shrugged. "Easiest thanks I've ever earned."

The two of them fell silent and stepped back from each other as they finished their beers. When Cal bent low to reach for another one he stopped dead. A peculiar sound reached his ears from the nearby lake shore and he groaned in frustration. He stepped past his brother and glared toward the northern shore. Cal gritted his teeth when he saw them.

"For fuck's sake," he said.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"Can't I just have one fucking day of peace? God damn it!"

"What do you mean?" Ben turned to look at what his brother saw and noticed a group of the strange creatures that had dragged him off that night. "Shit," he said.

"Stay here," Cal said. "I'll deal with the bastards."

"Cal, there's got to be ten of them! You can't do that alone."

"Like hell I can't."

Cal broke into a sudden run and charged straight into the lead putty along the lengthy beach. He ducked low and caught the thing with his shoulder. The momentum caused the putty to roll up over Cal's back and splash down into the surf. Another putty tried grabbing for him but Lara's words echoed in his ears.

"You control your anger. It does not control you. Now learn how to throw a proper damn punch, you little shit."

He let loose an angry shout when he threw a vicious punch into the chest of the second putty and made it split up into pieces.

"Who's the little shit now?" he said through gritted teeth.

Three came running at him at the same time and Cal planted himself low in the sand. One lunged for his waist and another stiffened its arm and aimed for his head. The third ran at him from the left and leapt at him with one leg raised.

He threw a shoulder into the one aiming for his head and it tumbled into the sand. He ducked away from the one with its leg raised and hit it in the chest with a clenched fist. But he didn't have time to react to the third one. He tried to brace himself but the thing was on him. With his muscles tense, Cal was surprised when he noticed the putty didn't reach him. Someone had tackled the thing from the side.

Ben and the putty crashed down into the surf of the lake with a loud splash and wrestled against each other.

"Damn it, Ben," Cal said under his breath.

Cal had the presence of mind to stomp on the chests of the putties that lay on the ground and proceeded to deal with the rest of them. He pictured Kiera in his mind's eye and did his best to mimic her. One of the putties stopped dead in its tracks when Cal grabbed it by the shoulders. With one powerful move, he flipped the thing over his head and slammed it down into the sand. A further punch to the chest sent the thing into pieces. He used several more heavy punches to deal with the rest and turned his attention to his brother on the ground.

Before Cal could do anything, Ben followed his little brother's lead and managed to punch the putty in the chest. When it broke apart he stood up and smiled at Cal.

"Something to be smiling about?" Cal asked.

"We did pretty well," Ben said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "Well, mostly you."

"Damn things. They're everywhere these days."

Cal hunched over and clutched at his ribs. His back screamed at him in pain. He hissed and growled under his breath.

"Damn it."

"Hey, buddy. You okay? Did they get you?"

"No," Cal grunted. "Just... took a tumble yesterday. Twice."

"Doing what?"

Cal grimaced and straightened out, ignoring the pain.

"Lost my balance on the stairs," Cal answered,

"Twice?"

"Yeah, twice. It was stupid."

Ben smirked at his brother and stepped closer to him with a different question in mind.

"Where'd you learn moves like that?" Ben asked.

"Been training," Cal said. His voice went quiet.

"Training? Where?"

"With the fucking journalist."

Ben chuckled.

"Really? What's her name? Lara? Where did she learn it, then?"

"You'd have to ask her."

"So what are you training for, Cal? Expect some hostile witnesses in court?"

"Just keeping fit," Cal said.

"Sure, buddy. So you 'training' with her to get, uh, you know?"

Cal shot his brother a deep glare.

"That might be the dumbest thing you've ever said."

"Hey, it's none of my business what you do in your personal time."

"Fuck off, Ben," Cal said, walking away from his brother.

"Aw come on, Cal," Ben said with a laugh. "I'm just kidding!"

Ben caught up to his little brother.

"So what's the training for, really?"

"Nothing important," Cal said.

Ben placed a hand on Cal's shoulder. He let out a long, satisfied sigh.

"Yep. You sure do like green eh, buddy?"

Cal growled under his breath and didn't answer his brother. He and Ben just walked back to the dock together. Cal shook his head. He felt very tired all of a sudden and the case of beer had his name on it.-

* * *

-Arthur raised an eyebrow and took a smooth sip of the glass in front of him. A woman with dark hair sat across from him and smiled at him, sweetly.

"You trying to make me jealous?" Arthur asked, a wide grin on his face.

"They were impressive," the woman replied. "But that blue one. He was just so... stoic. And strong."

"But you said you didn't see him fight."

"No, but Nima did. She told me all about him. He was cool, calm, and spoke like a true scholar. Brought him up to me, specifically."

"She trying to set you up with this guy or what?"

"Arthur," she said. She leaned closer to him and brought her face inches from his. "What could he possibly do to compete with you?"

"Damn right," Arthur said. He leaned closer as well. "He's just some jackass in a helmet. But, if he were to reciprocate your interest in him then I couldn't blame him. How could anyone not fall for you, Rochelle?"

The two of them touched their foreheads against each other and giggled like children. The bar around them was not crowded but the noise was still prevalent to anyone sitting within. But it all fell away when they locked eyes.

"And anyway," Rochelle said. "He wore a helmet. I didn't see if he had your luxurious hair." She reached up and stroked the side of Arthur's head.

"It's only still this long for you, you know," Arthur said. "I would have gotten it cut ages ago otherwise."

"Well, it is what made me want to talk to you. Get to know you. I mean, you looked like you stepped out of a romance novel with that gorgeous mane. I had to know if the personality matched."

"What's with the past tense?" Arthur teased. "Are you asking me to cut it?"

"I wouldn't dream of seeing that silky hair harmed, Artie." She played with his hair between her fingers. "And speaking in the past tense is what you do when you speak of the past."

"There's that snark," Arthur said. "You used to make Lara so mad back at college."

Rochelle laughed.

"Well, she started it."

"Always does," Arthur said.

They leaned back again and Arthur finished his drink.

"She told me she was coming, by the way," he said. "Wanted to celebrate your getting home safe."

"Wouldn't she have done that with Lily?"

"Probably," Arthur said. "But she cares for you, Chelle."

"Pretty sure she still hates me," Rochelle said.

"Nah, come on. She's really got a heart of gold under all that... attitude."

"Attitude? Arrogance, more like."

"A touch of it, maybe," Arthur said. "I'd say she's cocky more than anything. But that's what makes her so endearing. And she stood up for me all the time when we were kids."

"Well she always did look after you," Rochelle said. "Can't be all bad, I guess."

"You know she isn't. I know she likes you. And you like her. You told me yourself."

Rochelle smirked.

"There is something about her, I have to admit. You've got to admire that sort of strength of hers. She's fearless."

"Oh my. I think my ears are burning," a cocky voice said from beside their table. Lara leaned over them with the same cocky smirk on her face.

"Isn't that funny," Arthur said with a chuckle. "She thinks we're talking about her."

Lara punched him in the shoulder softly and laughed.

"Don't bullshit me around, Art. I heard what you said."

"I'm sorry," Arthur said, taking a more serious tone. "We shouldn't talk about you when you're not around."

"Hey, you weren't wrong," Lara said. "It's all good, Art."

Lara took a seat to Arthur's right and leaned back. She nodded at Rochelle.

"So how are you? Doing all right?"

"I won't lie. It was surreal and awful. But I'm glad those Rangers showed up. I couldn't take that... bug thing staring at me anymore."

"Yeah, Lily told me about that thing," Lara said. "Can't blame you for feeling that way."

"I hate bugs at the best of times," Arthur said. "Nevermind giant ones in situations like that. Did it attack you at all?"

"No it just kind of... stared. That pair of Rangers made short work of it, though. That woman in red was particularly impressive. She was so calm and focussed. The green guy did well but I think he may have been hurt. He hit the wall pretty hard."

Lara fought back the urge to laugh.

"The Christmas Duo," she said with a smile. "They sure are a team."

"Hey, I never thought of them like that," Arthur said with a laugh. "That's funny."

"What's with you two?" Rochelle asked. "How could you laugh at heroes like that?"

"Ah, they're just people," Lara said. "Trust me."

Rochelle leaned toward both of them and lowered her voice.

"Oh, I do."

Arthur furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Arthur? Those injuries you keep coming home with, your affinity for the colour blue. And Lara. Do you really think I haven't seen you fight before? I knew that yellow one was you the first time I saw the news footage. The fact those aliens targeted both Lily and me just clinched it."

Lara chuckled and the cocky smirk spread across her face again. She pulled a thin cigar from her leather jacket and lit it.

"They must have drugged you," Lara said. "You're talking crazy."

"You deny it?"

"What is there to deny? Do you really think I'd join up with some sci-fi freak police?"

"Yes," Rochelle said. "And you were a cop, Lara. It's in your blood."

"Not anymore," Lara said. She took a long drag from her cigar.

"Rochelle," Arthur said, softly. He leaned closer to her and took her hands in his. His expression dropped and turned very serious. "Trust me when I say that we are not what you think."

"Arthur..."

She met his eyes and stared at him for a few seconds. She nodded to him.

"All right," she said. "I won't say anything more."

"Thank you," Arthur said.

"And, um, thank you. Both of you."

"Don't need thanks," Lara said, letting smoke drift from her mouth. "We didn't do anything. Right?"

"Of course," Rochelle said.

The three of them didn't speak for several minutes. That gave them time to hear the commotion outside. People in the street fled every which way and an odd ululation came up from within the scattering crowd. Lara leaned her chair back and watched outside the bar. Several putties rushed toward the bar and caused people to flee in panic. She smirked and placed the cigar in her mouth.

"Art," she said.

"What?"

"Stay close to your wife. We've got trouble."

The couple stayed silent and heard the sound Lara had heard.

"Oh no," Rochelle said. "They're back?"

"What? Why?" Arthur asked.

"Don't know and don't much care," Lara said. "Just make sure they don't get to her. I'll take care of it."

"Alone?"

"That's the plan." Lara cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders. She stretched each arm once. The malicious grin crept onto her face and she stamped her cigar out into the palm of her fingerless, leather glove.

"I should help," Arthur said.

"I'll call you if I need you, Art," Lara answered. "But don't count on it."

People all around the bar rushed out when the putties burst in through the window. They clutched and grabbed at people who scrambled away but stopped when they heard someone bellow at them from the bar.

"Hey! Who's up for an ass kickin'?"

Two jumped at her right away but a chair swiped across them and took them both to the floor. Lara tossed it away.

"Take a seat, boys," she said.

A third ran at her in an attempt to clothesline her but she ducked and rolled away from it. She shoved a table toward it and two more rushed in behind her. She slid over the table and now stood on the opposite side of all three. Lara circled the table, laughing, and flipped it over onto them. They shoved it off themselves and rushed Lara again, behind another table. The first one reached her and she grabbed it by the back of the head and cracked it off the table in front of her. The next two got the same treatment and she smirked again.

"Table for three, I take it?"

She punched each in the chest and took the time to stomp on the other two she had hit with the chair. Four remained and surrounded her. A stray chair lay between her and the two behind her. Lara kicked the chair toward them and made them tumble to the floor. She ran between them and chuckled.

"Take a... wait. I used that one already."

Lara backed into a pool table and stepped on a pool cue leaning against a chair. She kicked it up to her hands and twirled it like staff.

" _Cue_ up, boys," she said.

One of them reached her but she cracked it in the skull with the thick end of the cue and it took a spill onto the floor. She reached down and punched it in the chest and rolled into the next one, swinging the cue up and caught a putty under the chin. This time, however, the cue broke.

"Little chin music for ya."

She kicked this one in the chest and noticed the other two advancing on Arthur and Rochelle. Arthur planted himself and shielded his wife.

"Stay behind me," he said.

They took a few slow steps toward them but the same voice called out to them from the pool table. Lara stood atop it, another cue in hand. She rubbed the end of it with chalk.

"Hey there. How 'bout a game?"

The two putties ignored Arthur and Rochelle and stood on either side of the table. They tried grabbing at her ankles but Lara jumped and rolled away. She kicked one in the face and used her momentum to swing around and crack the other over the head with the cue.

"Chalk up another one."

She finished them both off and tossed the broken cue behind her. Lara let loose with another laugh.

"Hustled 'em good."

The malice left her smile when she crossed the room and stopped in front of Arthur.

"You missed one, I think," Arthur said, smiling back at her.

"Yeah, smart guy? What would you have said?"

"Let's table this discussion for later," he said. "Or how about this. Ass kickin' time? Right on _cue."_

"Hey, all right," Lara said. "Somebody's been spending too much time with me."

"Is this really the time to be joking around?" Rochelle asked. "We should get out of here before more of them show up."

Lara rubbed the back of her neck and her smile turned sheepish when she met Rochelle's eyes.

"Yeah, good idea. Let's go then, Art."

The three of them fled the bar together but as they ran, Arthur and Lara both heard a loud beep come from their watches. Lara told them to run on ahead of her and she held the watch to her mouth.

"What's up, Zordon?"

"Lara, I need the five of you here. It's an emergency."

"Art's busy," Lara said. "But he should be along soon. I'm coming in."

"Thank you, Lara."

The yellow light engulfed her and Lara disappeared from the street.-

* * *

-"Stolen? What do you mean stolen?" Kiera leaned on the console next to Alpha. The robot took a tentative step away from the Red Ranger. Her voice was calm this time but the gravity of the situation made Kiera tense up and Alpha still felt nervous around her.

"Zedd had someone, I don't know who, cut off my communications and steal the power of the Silver Ranger," Zordon said.

"Wait a minute," Cal said. "You had another Soul Beast in reserve?"

"I always do," Zordon said. "Just in case the team needs further assistance. But you five have proven capable thus far and so the sixth ranger's powers were not needed. But now Zedd has them."

"Do you know who he gave them to?" Ayla asked.

"We do not, Ayla. We have detected a presence on Zedd's ship but they have been blocking us out somehow. I suspect they are the one responsible for the theft."

"That woman..." Lara said.

"What woman, Lara?" Zordon asked.

"She was on Zedd's ship," Lara said. "She wore this pure white cloak. And she just appeared and disappeared like that," Lara said, snapping her fingers. "Nothing like our teleportation or even Zedd's."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"Something about a Knight arriving on Earth. And that her alliance with Zedd was only temporary."

Zordon furrowed his brow and went silent for a long time. He let out a long breath.

"Did she mention any more about this Knight?"

"Not really. She said we'd fight when 'The Knight' falls to Earth. Why? Do you know who she's talking about?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," Zordon said. "For now, we need to be on guard. You have all no doubt noticed the increased putties around the city."

"Yeah," Cal said, with a frustrated sigh.

"Weak ones, too," Ayla added. "They can't seem to take even one hit without crumpling to the ground."

"It did seem a little too easy," Lara said.

"They appear to be concentrated within the empty warehouse district." Zordon shook his head. "That sounded odd when I said it."

"Yeah, why haven't they developed that place into something usable?" Arthur asked. "It seems weird."

"That doesn't matter," Zordon said. "What does matter is that Zedd isn't sending these putties. It appears to be this presence and whomever received the Silver Ranger powers."

"And they're targeting us again?" Kiera asked.

"Drawing you out, I suspect."

"So it's a trap," Ayla said.

"Perhaps," Zordon said. "But we cannot let those putties within the city and we must retrieve the Silver Ranger powers. Or at least attempt to turn whoever it is within away from Zedd."

"So you're sending us in anyway?" Arthur asked.

"We may have the upper hand," Zordon said. "If it is indeed a trap, as Ayla said, then we should be prepared for it. It may be wise to make them think they hold the upper hand and make them complacent."

"Still don't like walking into a trap," Lara said. "Already walked into one on Zedd's ship. If that woman is involved then she might just have the upper hand anyway."

"Yes. That is my fear as well, Lara. But we have to take the risk. Those Silver Ranger powers are dangerous in Zedd's hands. We must do what we can to get them back," Zordon said.

"Well, best send us down there then," Kiera said. "Ready up, people. Keep your guards up."

The five of them stood together. With a nod from Zordon, Alpha sent them off to meet the Silver Ranger.-

* * *

-Deafening silence greeted the Rangers when they arrived beside one of the many empty warehouses. No putties appeared anywhere near them. They fanned out and searched around every corner for any sign of a presence. Ayla scanned the rooftops and spotted two people facing each other. One of them wore a white cloak and held a staff in their left hand. The other was a Power Ranger with a black shield on their shoulders. They were dressed in silver. The cloaked person appeared to be speaking.

"They're here," The Shroud said. "It's time to test yourself."

"As Lord Zedd commands," the Silver Ranger said.

"No. As I command."

The Silver Ranger stared at her for several moments. The Shroud struck him in the chest with her staff and made him stumble backward. He caught himself and reached to his hip for the mace. He stopped himself and stood straight again.

"Yes. As you command, Shroud."

"Good. Now prepare yourself. They approach."

The five Rangers stopped just below the warehouse and saw the two of them standing together. Lara drew her cutlass and pointed at The Shroud.

"You! Come down here!"

The Shroud turned away and, with a flutter of her cloak, disappeared again. She left the Silver Ranger alone with the five Rangers. Behind him, the clouds dissipated and the light of the moon seemed to make him glow with power. He jumped down from the roof, mace in hand, and focussed his attention on the Red Ranger.

"Borden," he said.

Kiera didn't believe her ears.

"Wait. Russ?"

"Been a while. I hear you still got the devil in you. I always wanted to dance with the devil by the pale moonlight."


	7. Ghost of the Past

**Chapter 7: Ghost of the Past**

(Part Two of the Silver Saga)

"How the hell are you alive?"

Kiera kept one hand to the sword at her hip but she refused to draw it. The unreal sight before her demanded explanation but defied anything she could think.

"Does it matter? I'm here now," Russ said, plucking the mace from his belt. He loosened his shoulder and twirled the mace once in his hand.

"Kiera, what the hell is going on?" Cal asked, his gaze flitting back and forth between the Red Ranger and the new Silver Ranger. She ignored him.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"I was given power and a mission. You stand in my way," Russ replied.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Russ. You're a Ranger like us. We can fight Zedd together."

Russ swiped at her with his mace but Kiera was quick enough to avoid it. She still refused to draw her sword.

"Fight him? Who do you think gave me my power and my new life?"

"Russ, please. You're a good man. You can overcome this."

Russ seemed to hesitate for a brief moment. He tightened his grip on the mace and gave his head a shake.

"I... I have my mission. You're in my way, Borden."

Lara took a step forward. "Let's just light him up," she said.

"No!" Kiera said. "This is my fight. I have to do this."

"Kiera-"

"Just stay back, Arthur!"

Russ chuckled.

"Come on. Let the devil out, girl. Let's go."

"Everyone stay back!" Kiera called. "I'm doing this alone."

She finally pulled the sword from its sheath and crouched low. Kiera gripped it in both hands and took a hesitant swing for Russ' chest. He jumped back and brought the mace down toward Kiera's head. It stopped in mid-air and rattled against the blade of Kiera's sword.

The Silver Ranger went on the offensive and took several quick, aggressive swings at Kiera. She blocked all but the last one, which collided with her shoulder and sent her sprawling to the ground.

"I've seen enough," Lara said.

Kiera jumped back to her feet.

"I said stay back!" she said.

Lara took a step back but her hand still rested on the hilt of her cutlass.

Russ came at Kiera again and the Red Ranger still would not swing at him with all her strength. In her desperate mind, Kiera remained determined not to hurt her former friend out of some vain hope that he'd stop and remember himself. The Silver Ranger had no such intentions and forced Kiera to the dirt again. She got up just as quick as she had before but this time, Russ cracked the mace off Kiera's right knee and the leg collapsed beneath her. She kept herself propped up but she was now kneeling on the ground. Russ loomed over her.

"Come on, Kiera. I know he's in there. The devil is calling to you. Let him out."

"Russ... we don't have to do this," Kiera said, through gritted teeth. "Just remember who you are."

"There is nothing to remember. So make this a fight. Do it. Let the devil out."

"Stop it! I don't want to hurt you!"

Russ bent down closer to her.

"You'll have to if you want to survive. That's what you do best, isn't it? You're a survivor. What would Vinny think if he could see you right now?"

A furious growl erupted from some terrible beast and the Silver Ranger was sent sprawling by a crushing fist that connected with his chin. He tumbled and rolled backward, back to his feet. Kiera stood tall with the sword gripped tight in both hands.

" _Don't ever mention that name to me!"_

Kiera ran at him and delivered a quick strike to the side of Russ' head and tripped him up. She sent him to the ground and tried to punch him again but he rolled away and got back up once more.

"Hell's empty, girl," he said. "The devil is here."

" _Shut up!"_

Russ now found himself on the defensive and he could not keep up with the fury of the red beast that attacked him from every angle. No matter how far the Silver Ranger backed up, the raging monster was there to attack him. But he did manage to stay in the fight and this prompted Lara into action.

"To hell with this," she said. "Let's get in there."

"But Kiera said-"

"I don't think she's in the mood for stopping us now, Art," Lara said. "And I've had enough of this guy. How about you?"

Lara leapt into the fray and the others joined her to stack the odds in their favour. There wasn't much Russ could do while fending off all five Rangers. In spite of this, however, the Silver Ranger was tenacious and battled back well against all five of them.

Ayla dropped back and settled in behind the Silver Ranger with a dagger in each hand. When he backed up toward her she lunged forward and grabbed him. He grappled with her for a short time before slipping out of her grasp. He swung the heavy mace toward her head but Ayla jumped back and threw one of her daggers at the same time. Russ deflected it aside and countered with another swing.

His mace collided with Cal's axe and the Green Ranger blocked his path to the Black Ranger. Russ shoved Cal away and tripped him with a swift, sweeping kick. With him on the ground, the Silver Ranger whirled around in time to knock one of Arthur's shuriken out of the air and send him sprawling with a heavy shoulder.

Something struck him in the side of the head and made Russ stumble but he was quick to regain his footing. Lara jumped at him again and ducked underneath a vicious swing from the silver mace. At the same time, she lashed out with her cutlass and the thing sparked when it connected with the shield that covered Russ' torso. The Silver Ranger stumbled a bit and Lara struck out at him again. Her sword found the handle of Russ' mace and he pushed her back with a hard shove. It seemed none of them could even so much as touch him. No one but Kiera, anyway.

The Red Ranger had sheathed her sword and seemed focussed on beating him to a pulp. Another heavy punch connected with Russ' helmet and made him stumble back into Ayla. He was fast enough to recover and kick the remaining dagger from her hand. But the momentary distraction gave Kiera the time to run at him and throw him against the outer wall of an empty warehouse. She ran at him again but Russ was ready for her. He moved aside at the last second and the head of his mace connected full on Kiera's visor. She collapsed to the ground and rolled over onto her stomach.

The other four surrounded their leader and fended Russ off for a time. Kiera managed to get to her knees and felt her ears ringing from the heavy impact. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that her visor had cracked and obscured her vision. Russ had reached her again when she got back to her feet. Kiera clicked open the latch on the back of her helmet and slid it off her head. She let it fall to the ground and the others stopped fighting for a moment.

Kiera's dark eyes went harder as she reached for the sword at her hip. She drew it and let the blade sing when it was released from its sheath.

"Big risk," Russ said. "Now everyone can see the devil in your eyes."

"Kiera, your helmet!" Arthur said.

"I'll be fine, Arthur," Kiera said. "Stand back."

Kiera didn't wait for Russ to respond and flung herself at him with every ounce of her strength behind one big swing of her sword. Russ managed to parry the attack but Kiera let one hand off the sword and countered him with a devastating left hook that rattled his helmet and cracked his visor in return. Russ took his turn sprawling to the dirt. He groaned as he got back up again. The Silver Ranger was now forced to remove his helmet and the white-haired man revealed his face to them for the first time. He smiled and took in heavy breaths.

"You still hit like a truck, Borden," Russ said. "Always did."

Kiera's eyes still raged but she had managed to calm her mind a bit.

"You done?"

"Not even close," Russ said. "But I think I might have to take a different approach. See you later, Kiera."

The Silver Ranger became engulfed in a sparkling silver light and was gone in a flash. Kiera let out one long breath and closed her eyes. She did everything she could to ignore the throbbing pain in her head.

Arthur stepped forward and held her steady when she stumbled.

"Kiera, are you all right?"

"Fine," Kiera said, gritting her teeth.

"You don't look fine."

"You a doctor now?"

"You took a bad hit to the head there," Arthur said. "I might not be a doctor but it wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe see one."

"We don't have time," Kiera said. "He'll be back."

"Yeah, and just who was he, anyway?" Lara asked from behind her. "You knew him?"

"From my army days," Kiera replied. "He was killed six years ago."

"Well obviously not," Lara said.

"I was there!" Kiera snapped, whirling on Lara. She felt her head swim and Arthur steadied her again.

"You saw it happen?" Lara asked.

Kiera struggled with the memory. She grimaced and shut her eyes.

"Suicide bomber. Tackled him and kept him away from the centre of this little town. He saved a whole town and the rest of my squad. But there was nothing left of him."

"Shit. I'm sorry," Lara said.

"So then how did Zedd bring him back?" Cal asked, stepping forward.

"Zordon might know," Kiera said.

Just as she said the name, Lara tapped the side of her helmet when she heard a loud beep in her ear.

"Zordon?"

Through broken static, a frantic voice answered her. "Lara... Ranger... attacking... ...ommand centre!"

"Zordon! What's going on? Who's attacking the command centre?"

Everyone focussed on Lara when she spoke then. She received no response and the five of them were whisked away in beams of light.

...

Alpha flailed his arms against his attacker but the Silver Ranger's arm held him in a firm grasp. The robot kept its optic sensors on the large electromagnet in Russ' right hand and tried to reach for it. The Silver Ranger laughed and held it beyond Alpha's reach and kneed him in the back.

"Keep it up, robot. See where that gets you."

Alpha stopped fighting back when five different beams of light flashed before him and the Rangers appeared there. It didn't take them long to figure out what had happened.

Static appeared where Zordon's holographic visage had once been. Alpha's console sparked and crackled from the damage done to it by some blunt instrument. In front of them, with one arm holding tight onto Alpha and the other gripping an electromagnet, the Silver Ranger smirked at them and held the magnet close to Alpha's head.

"Rangers!" Alpha squawked.

"Alpha..." Kiera said. She stepped forward and Russ pressed the magnet to Alpha's head.

"I wouldn't step any closer," Russ said. "Just a single press of a button and your little buddy is nothing but a shell."

"Don't do this, Russ," Kiera said. "You're better than this."

"Am I? Do you really know me anymore, Borden? The Russ you knew is in a million bloody pieces back in Afghanistan. I'm a monster. A being of clay and hatred. What am I?"

"You're still Russ," Kiera said. "Whatever Zedd did to you we can fix it. Just stop what you're doing."

"You can't fix the dead, Kiera," Russ said. "What's dead and gone should fucking stay that way! And I'm taking you all with me!"

"Russ, don't," Kiera said. "Leave Alpha out of it. Leave everyone else out of it. Just... take me."

"Kiera, don't!" Arthur shouted. She ignored him.

"You'd give yourself up for this toaster?" Russ asked.

"I owe him," Kiera said. "And I owe everyone. This is my team. I'm just doing what you did. What you would do."

Russ smiled wide.

"Sorry, Borden, but that just isn't good enough. I'm here for all five of you. So if all of you don't power down and give me your morphers I don't think I have to tell you what I'll do to the tin can."

Kiera let out a long breath and put one hand to her belt. She felt the power leave her and the morpher came away into her hand. She turned her head to the side and spoke to the rest of the team.

"You heard him," she said. "Power down."

"No way," Lara said. "We can't just let this bastard win."

"Do it, Lara. You want him to kill Alpha?"

Lara hesitated. She never thought the annoying little robot would mean something to her but the thing always did act so happy. All it ever seemed to want was to be her friend and she couldn't understand why since she didn't exactly treat him very well. Arthur got along with him well, too, and if the robot could treat her family well then it deserved some kind of chance to live.

Without another word, Lara powered down and settled in beside Kiera with the morpher in her hand. The other three powered down one after the other and stood in a line beside their leader. The four of them placed their morphers on the floor and kicked them over to Russ. Kiera held hers out to Russ.

"Here. Take it."

Russ shuffled forward and reached out to Kiera's power morpher. When he was within inches of taking hold of it, Kiera lunged forward and grabbed the magnet in Russ' hand. She wrenched it out of his hand and forced herself between Alpha and the Silver Ranger. Kiera shoved him back as hard as she could and sent him sprawling to the floor.

"Run, Alpha!"

The robot scrambled away and Kiera gripped the morpher tight in her hand. "Bull Soul Beast!"

Her power returned and the suit appeared on her body again, minus the helmet, and Kiera picked Russ up off the floor and slammed him into the wall. She pressed one forearm hard against his throat and held him off the ground.

" _You don't fuck with Alpha, you piece of shit!_ "

Russ gasped for breath and fought back against Kiera's iron grip but he could do nothing to stop her from squeezing the life out of him.

With a growl, Kiera tossed him across the room and unsheathed the sword at her hip. Russ scrambled to his feet and backed away from the fury of the red monster that attacked him. In desperation, the Silver Ranger countered and forced Kiera backward with a heavy hit from his shoulder. He backed away again and the silver light appeared and he was gone.

" _Damn it!"_

Kiera walked to the broken console and broke it further with another hefty punch. Alpha moved toward her with tentative steps and placed one of his metallic hands on Kiera's shoulder. She didn't react this time.

"Thank you, Kiera," the robot said. "You saved me."

"I had to," Kiera said. "You're important."

"He said some things to me about you. And I think he's wrong," Alpha said.

"He's not wrong. I'm not so different from him, actually. He called himself a monster. Well I'm a monster too."

"Zedd makes monsters," Alpha said. "Zordon only chooses heroes. And he chose you."

An alarm sounded then, interrupting their discussion. The viewing globe displayed the Silver Ranger standing atop a massive Silver Bear that was walking toward the downtown core.

"Oh no! He's unleashed the Bear Zord!" Alpha said.

"I'll stop him," Kiera said. "You need to work on getting Zordon back." Kiera turned in place to face the rest of her team. "Arthur," she said. "You stay here and help Alpha."

"What? I can't let you do this on your own."

"You can and you will. We can't lose communication with Zordon. Help him out."

"What about us?" Ayla asked.

"The three of you get morphed and stay put outside. Don't call your Zords unless I call you."

"This is insane," Lara said. "What happened to being a team? You give me hell for fighting on my own and now you're not even following your own orders."

"Lara, the three of you are going to look after the people on the ground. Make sure they're safe. I'll do my best to head him off and keep him from reaching town. Only join me if I say so."

"What is it about this guy? Why are you the lone wolf all of a sudden?" Cal asked.

Kiera walked away from them and stopped in front of Alpha. "You're going to need a monster to stop him," she said. "And I'm it. Send us out, Alpha."

"Kiera, you're not-"

"Just do it, Alpha."

Alpha did what he could with the broken console and managed to find the correct teleportation sequence. In seconds, the coloured light flickered and sent the four of them away. Arthur stepped up beside Alpha and looked down at the console. He shook his head.

"She's wrong," Arthur said. "You tried to tell her. I know she's no monster."

"It'll be okay, Arthur," Alpha said. "Kiera is a good leader. She'll see the truth in her own time."

"I guess. Let's get started on this mess."


	8. Silver Lining

Chapter 8: Silver Lining

(Final part of the Silver Saga)

The huge, lumbering monster seemed to be taking its time on its way toward the city. Each step thundered the ground and shook the empty buildings that surrounded it. From all appearances, this monster was not out for destruction. It seemed to be waiting for something.

The great silver bear had glowing read eyes and a metallic body of pure silver that reflected the setting sunlight. It roared once and bared its huge, dagger-like teeth. Its master climbed out of the cockpit and up onto the top of the beast's head while it made slow progress toward the city centre. But Russ had no intention of entering the city. He knew he would draw the Rangers out. There was no way they would ignore the threat he posed to the people of the city.

While scouring the land below, Russ spotted a single, red shape walk toward him from the empty warehouses. The figure stopped a few hundred metres away and a pair of angry eyes glared right at him.

"She's here," Russ said to his Zord.

Kiera, still without her helmet, closed her eyes and did everything she could to quell her rising anger. With several deep breaths, Kiera opened her eyes again and kept them fixed upon the giant silver monster that still thundered on toward her.

"Bull Zord!"

The raging bull bellowed once and trampled the ground beneath it as it appeared. It stopped beside its master and she climbed up inside into the cockpit. Kiera gripped the controls tight and still kept her eyes on the Bear Zord in front of her.

A gravelly voice spoke over her Zord's comm unit. "The bull suits you, Borden."

"Enough talking," Kiera said. "I've tried to reason with you."

The bear stopped moving and Russ climbed back inside. The two giant beasts squared off and stared each other down.

"You can't reason with the dead," Russ said.

"You're not dead anymore," Kiera said. "I thought there was a chance."

"Well you were wrong. I'm a monster, Kiera. Just like everything else Zedd's created and everything else you've fought. You've got no choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Not this time."

"I reached you for a moment. I saw it. You hesitated when I said you could fight this. You're still in there, Russ."

It took a long time for Russ to answer this time. "Russ is dead," he said. "All that's left is this clay monster. You know what you have to do, Kiera."

Kiera shook her head. "I do."

"Then let's do this."

Deafening silence passed between the two for many long, agonizing moments. Russ' hand twitched and the bear took one step forward. Kiera hammered her controls forward and the bull charged at full speed toward the bear. The two metal monsters collided and the bear was pushed back into an empty warehouse. It tore through the wall and brought the huge building to ruin. But the bull kept pushing and they crashed through a second warehouse and then a third.

Before the bull could ram the bear through a forth, the Bear Zord dug its claws into the ground and brought the two beasts to a halt. With a deep roar, the bear clamped its jaws down onto the bull's right shoulder. The bull went wild and bucked its hind legs in the air. With a mighty shake of its enormous head, the bull managed to dislodge the bear's bite and charge at it again.

The bear sidestepped the bull and allowed it to rush past. It whirled around and clawed at the bull's right haunch, leaving a deep, metallic gash in its side. The bear then leapt upon the bull's side and it crashed to the ground. Gnashing teeth came down on the bull's shoulder again and again as the bear whipped itself into a frenzy.

With a surge of incredible strength, the bull reared its head and tossed the bear away into another warehouse. The bull clambered to its feet again and charged the bear once more. The bear was pushed up to an empty harbour. It was forced from the ground by the bull's furious charge. One push from the red bull's great horns launched the silver bear into the air and out over the water. It hit the water with a massive splash and disappeared beneath the waves.

The bull stood by the water's edge, its heavy breath steaming in the air and waited to see if the bear would emerge. Instead, a giant, humanoid robot with a two handed sword appeared from beneath the water. It was the same colour as the bear and held the same cold, red stare in its eyes. Beside its hands, what had once been the bear's front paws acted as protective gauntlets for the great, steel warrior.

The bull backed away as the silver warrior stepped out of the harbour and back onto dry land. Kiera had no way to counter this but she didn't care. Her bull would beat this thing no matter what it took.

When Kiera was about to charge, another voice spoke over her comms unit. "Kiera? Are you there?"

"What is it, Arthur?"

"We've been monitoring your situation. Alpha says that your Zord has something called Mode Two. Only the bull and the bear were programmed with it."

"How do I activate it?"

"There should be a lever marked with a number two next to it just beneath your seat," Arthur said.

Kiera searched around her chair and found the lever Arthur was talking about. "I see it."

"Pull that and it should even the odds."

Without hesitation, Kiera pulled the lever and the bull began to change. Two,humanoid legs sprouted from its underbelly and it slowly began to stand up. The bull's head came away and a left arm sprouted from it. The right arm sprouted from the back and a human-shaped head rose up from the bull's chest. Without her command, the red warrior reached to its hip and drew a one-handed sword. The bull's head remained in its left hand, becoming flat and acting as a shield.

Russ spoke to her again. "We fight like warriors," he said. "As it should be."

Kiera didn't answer him this time and set her Zord on the offensive. The red warrior bashed its bull-faced shield into the head of the silver warrior. It brought its sword down onto the silver warrior's head and the metal sparked on contact. This forced the silver warrior back and made it retaliate with a two handed swing toward the red warrior's torso. The great, silver sword connected with the red warrior's chest and made it stumble backward.

The two warriors struck out at the same time and their giant blades collided. The silver warrior's stronger, two handed swing cast the red warrior's one handed sword aside. Silver countered with an upward swing toward red's head but red still had its shield and deflected the blow to one side. Now it was red's turn to counter with an overhand swing of its sword. With no defence, the sword hit its mark at the base of silver's neck. The silver warrior was knocked clean off its feet and crashed down to the ground. But it was quick and rolled away to red's left. It jumped back to its feet in an instant and swung again at red's head. Its blade clattered against something green and metallic that streaked through the sky and deflected its blow.

A giant, green raven cawed to the air above them and swooped down at the silver warrior again. A wild swing from silver missed and the green raven knocked the silver warrior to the ground again.

"Cal!" Kiera bellowed. "What are you doing here? I told you to protect the city."

"They don't need us right now," Cal answered. "And we thought you could use some help."

"We?"

The silver warrior staggered to its feet and a giant, metallic lioness leapt upon it from behind a nearby crumbled warehouse, tearing at its throat with its mighty jaws.

"Lara! Damn it!"

The lioness leapt back again and sat down beside the red warrior. "Howdy, fearless leader," Lara said.

The silver warrior again got back to its feet and charged for the red warrior. Before it could strike, a giant black shape howled and leapt at silver from out of nowhere and tackled it to the ground.

"You too, Ayla?"

This time, the black wolf kept the silver warrior pinned, snarling and growling in its face. The lioness stepped up beside the wolf and bared its teeth to the silver warrior while the green raven soared down to a nearby intact warehouse and sat perched at its top.

Kiera decided not to let the advantage go to waste and the red warrior stepped between its growling allies. With the tip of the sword inches from silver's neck, Kiera spoke into her comms unit again.

"Give it up, Russ," she said. "Come out of there."

"It doesn't matter what you do," Russ said. "I will never stop fighting."

"Well then let's change who you fight for," Kiera said.

The red warrior sheathed its sword and reached down to the silver warrior. It picked it up by the throat and bashed its head with the shield over and over until the thing blinked and faded away. Russ tumbled to the ground below and lay there for a moment. He clambered to his feet and pulled the mace from his belt.

"Go on and end it!" he shouted up to the red warrior. "Finish me!"

The red warrior shook its head and it, too, blinked and faded away. Kiera stood where it had once been and made her way over to the Silver Ranger. He tensed up and held his weapon forward. The other Zords faded around him and he was soon surrounded by four of the Rangers.

"I will not stop until you are all destroyed! Do you hear me?" He brandished his mace at Kiera but she took it calmly by the handle and wrenched it from his grasp. She swept out his legs from underneath him and landed a heavy punch onto the side of his head as he fell. When he hit the ground on his back, she didn't continue. Instead, she tossed the mace away and held one hand down to him.

"You're still Russ," she said. "And I won't hear anything else. Prove me right, Captain."

Russ reached up and took Kiera's hand with the intention of pulling her downward but he stopped as soon as their hands touched. The memory of Afghanistan, the panicked people, the suicide bomber he jumped and smothered, his squad. His best soldier, his protege, came back into his mind. His days as a police officer as the only good cop in a sea of bad ones, the young girl who lived on the street that he watched over, and everything he once was rushed back into his memory. The common element of who he used to be was the woman who held his hand now. Kiera had made him a better man. Now, given new life, he found she was doing it again.

Kiera pulled Russ back to his feet and the two locked eyes for a moment. Russ's eyes, though still pale, now looked tired instead of angry. It was just as she remembered him.

"I knew you were still in there," Kiera said.

"What... what did I do?"

"Come with us," Kiera said. "I'll tell you all about it.

...

Russ wandered off to sit on his own and take in the destruction he had wrought upon the Command Centre. It took some explaining from Kiera and Zordon but he was able to understand what he had done and how he had been brought back to life. In the dark corner, the Silver Ranger sat and brooded about his sudden new life.

Kiera sat down on the floor next to him and Russ couldn't look at her.

"I wish you'd killed me," Russ said. "That's where I belong."

"Well you're here now," Kiera said. "And you know I could never do that."

Russ shook his head. "I remember a lot of what I said to you. Before this and under Zedd's control. I was wrong."

"About what?" Kiera asked.

"You don't have the devil in you, Kiera."

"Russ, you're not wrong. I know it's true."

"No," Russ said. "The devil wouldn't have tried to reach even a monster like me. You're a guardian angel. That's what you do."

Kiera cleared her throat and took in a sharp breath. "You've seen my anger."

"And you've seen what I've done. You should have killed me, by all rights."

"I know you. You're better than the thing Zedd made you into. We're better with you on our side."

Russ watched Arthur and Alpha continue to repair the damaged consoles and machines all around the main room. He felt glad that they had managed to restore communication with Zordon, at least. Now that he was on their side, he hoped he could make it up to the robot he had held hostage. It was strange to feel sorry to a machine but this one was different. Alpha seemed more like a caring friend than a machine and Russ felt that he had to make up for what he did, even if he wasn't in control of himself at the time.

"So what are you going to do, Russ? You've still got family out there. And I'm sure the precinct would take you back."

"I'm staying here," Russ said. "I'm dead and my family shouldn't see me like this. And you know I hated that damn job. Those crooked PDP bastards are why I became a soldier in the first place."

"You're just going to stay here?"

"To make it up to them," Russ said, nodding toward Alpha and Zordon. "And you. All five of you, I guess. Nothing else for it."

Kiera stood up and rolled her shoulders to stretch her muscles. "Do me a favour, then. Stop thinking of yourself as a monster. You're not. Zedd may have brought you back but he didn't make you."

"Long as you stop thinking the same of yourself, Borden," Russ said, his dull voice perking up to its usual stoic gravel.

Kiera just nodded and left the Silver Ranger alone again. Her head was still swimming from the heavy hit of Russ' mace and when Arthur spotted her, he pointed toward a back room.

"Get into that infirmary and rest, Kiera. And you should really see a doctor."

"I'll be fine," Kiera said. "But I'll go take a rest. Thanks."

Kiera stepped into the infirmary and, instead of laying down on the bed, sat down in one of the chairs beside the bed. It didn't take long for someone to enter.

"Knock knock."

Kiera slowly turned her head to the doorway to see Cal enter the room and sit down in the chair next to her.

"What is it?" Kiera asked.

"Well, everyone else is gone and Art's busy. Someone needs to check up on you."

"No they don't," Kiera said.

"Hey, everything that happened to you out there was a lot to deal with. The head injury and seeing a dead man out of the grave. It's got to be tough."

Kiera grunted. "And what makes you think you're the one to help?"

"You are this team, Kiera," Cal said. "We need to take care of each other and if our leader is hurting then at least one of us should help her out, you know?"

"That doesn't answer my question," Kiera said. "But fine. Say what you need to say, then."

"What? Kiera, you're the one who needs to talk. Anyone can see it."

"No."

"Kiera, come on. This whole thing has clearly brought up some stuff."

Kiera let out a long breath. She couldn't begrudge Cal for trying to help. He didn't always give the best impression of himself but underneath the sly facade was a kindhearted man. They hadn't really known each other all that long, the five of them, but it was safe to call most of them friends. Only Lara ever gave Kiera any trouble. But even with the two of them at odds, they were both friends with everyone else. Cal himself sometimes tried to push Lara's buttons but he had come to care a great deal for everyone on the team. Kiera often found herself enjoying his company, despite herself. She had even shared a beer with Cal and his brother Ben which, according to Cal himself, made them lifetime friends. Cal viewed anybody who got along with his brother as someone worthwhile and sharing beer was just a rite of passage to friendship.

"So what do you think I should talk about?" Kiera asked, reluctantly.

"Who was Vinny?"

Kiera closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. She lowered her head and pictured the day in her head. The image never left her. It took her a long to time to find the words but Cal remained patient and waited for her to speak. She didn't raise her head or open her eyes when she began speaking.

"I grew up on the street," Kiera said. "After my dad died."

"I'm sorry," Cal said.

"Don't be. It's not some sob story. It's my life. I don't need pity."

"All right," Cal said. "But that's still some hard shit to deal with as a kid, Kiera."

"Yeah," Kiera said. "It was a fucking picnic compared to... what happened."

"What did happen?"

Kiera opened her eyes and raised her head.

"There was a cop who used to look after me. A few of us, really, but he disobeyed orders to help us out. That cop was Russ, Cal."

"Explains why you have so much faith in him," Cal said.

"I guess. But he knew both of us. That's why his memories brought Vinny up to me. Vinny was another street kid, like me. We were friends."

Cal remained silent and just listened to Kiera's story for awhile.

"He was a good kid. Kinder than most, I can tell you that. Vinny was close to a miracle. Living on the streets you'd think he'd be some miserable asshole but he never was. Such a bright kid. Always keeping spirits up."

Kiera shook her head and smiled but the smile quickly faded. "He fell in with a bad group. Just trying to make friends, you know? But this group of kids, older than us, they started trying to cut Vinny off from me. I'd see less and less of him and, when I did, I'd see him all banged up and bruised. They would just kick the shit out of the kid for whatever reason. I didn't know what he did to piss them off for the longest time."

Kiera closed her eyes and lowered her head again.

"He saw something they did. A drug deal gone bad, I think. I never got the full story. Vinny saw them kill someone."

"Jesus," Cal said.

"It gets worse than that," Kiera said. "They would just beat him up at first but then I saw what happened when they decided they didn't need to leave the loose end."

Kiera swallowed hard. "They, um, they forced him to drink something. Drain cleaner, I think. I saw them force it down his throat."

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry," Cal said. "That's fucked up."

"I didn't know what else to do. I just ran and I told Russ what happened. He tracked the bastards down but... Vinny didn't make it. That shit just burned right through his insides. It was potent stuff. Made me think they laced it with something else."

"Kiera..."

"So that's who Vinny was, Cal," Kiera said, opening her eyes again.

"I don't know what to say," Cal said. "I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry again, Cal. I don't need your pity. But thanks for listening anyway."

Cal put a hand on Kiera's shoulder. "Sure. Just know that I'm here if you need to do it again."

"Don't count on it," Kiera said. "You're lucky that you got that much out of me. It won't happen again."

"Noted," Cal said. "But my offer stands just the same."

"All right then. Say hi to Ben for me, will you?" Kiera said.

Cal nodded. "Sure. Take care of yourself and get some rest. See a doctor, for Christ's sake."

Kiera just chuckled when Cal left the room and she went silent. With her head still swimming, she laid down on the infirmary bed and was asleep in seconds.

While she slept, Russ crept silently into the room and stared down at Kiera for a few moments. Trying not to disturb her, he reached to the foot of the bed and unfolded the blanket that rested there. He pulled it up to Kiera's shoulders and covered her with the entire blanket. Without a word, Russ walked silently to the infirmary door and pulled it gently closed.


	9. Last of Her Kind

Chapter 9: Last of Her Kind

 _Part 1 of The Knight's Saga_

Ageless stone walls surrounded the clearing of the lush forest. In the trees, birds echo and call to each other back and forth across the endless green landscape. In the centre of the clearing, surrounded by four walls, a lone figure knelt on the ground on one knee, bowing before a stern-faced, crowned figure of stone. The stone man held an ancient sword in his hands in the midst of removing it from a cracked and weathered pedestal. The purple clad figure remained as still as he in deep meditation.

Her meditation was interrupted when the sword began to glow. A silver energy radiated from the blade and reached the angry, green eyes of the purple clad figure.

The woman, the last Knight of Soul, raised her head to see the blade's message.

She was a hulking woman with broad shoulders and thick, muscular legs. Her powerful arms tensed and she stood up straight. Her body was covered in a purple suit, much like the Power Rangers. It was a deep, rich purple in colour. The gloves and boots were accented in silver and gold stripes and she wore a thick, silver belt on her waist in which her magnificent sword was sheathed. A shielded cuirass, coloured a gleaming silver, covered her chest and back and two pauldrons extended to her shoulders in one solid piece. On the front, right in the middle of her chest, the cuirass bore her symbol; a golden sword and shield on a black, circular background. She carried a heavy, purple shield on her right arm with a vertical, black stripe down its centre. The border of the shield was silver and reinforced with strong rivets. The final piece of her full armoured suit was her visored helmet. The helmet was purple, round at the back and flat at the front, forming a sort of shield over the lower half of her face. A black visor shielded her eyes, though she could see well, and met the shield of the knight's helmet she wore.

With a final flash of silver, the Knight of Soul received the sword's message and bowed her head.

"It is her," she said. "She has stolen power from the morphing grid. My search is at an end."

The purple knight turned around and a huge, robotic figure loomed over her. It held a sword and shield, much like her own, and stood perfectly still and awaited her command. She peered up at the giant Zord Knight and nodded. "We ride for Earth."

...

Russ gave his head a shake. He heard her voice again. Back on that rooftop, The Shroud had made him swear fealty to her. That must have been how he was able to regain his free will. But why? What was she planning? Why would she turn him against Zedd and allow him to do this?

The words whispered in his mind again. He had heard them over and over in his dreams. It was a simple sentence that The Shroud didn't want him to forget.

"The Knight is coming."

At first, he thought it to be a warning of some impending darkness from Lord Zedd. But then he realized that she meant a person. But who was this Knight? And why should Russ be prepared for them?

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Russ joined up with the rest of the team while Zordon told them about a mysterious light in the sky.

"I'm certain you've heard the news," Zordon began. "I get the sense that it is the talk of the town at the moment."

"And every wingnut is out there claiming a government conspiracy," Lara said. "You should listen to the radio these days. It's hilarious."

"Unfortunately there is nothing amusing about this purple streak in the sky. The Shroud has brought the Knight to Earth, as she said she would."

"The Knight?" Lara said. "That's what you think this is?"

"She is the one The Shroud told you, specifically, to watch for, Lara. You mentioned that she also said that you and her would 'cross blades' when this happened, yes?"

Lara smirked. "You saying we're up for a fight?"

"It looks that way. Rangers, be very careful. This Knight is the last of the Knights of Soul. They were the finest warriors this galaxy has ever seen. Their duty is their life and they do not accept help nor hindrance."

"And what is their duty?" Kiera asked. "And how do you know so much about them?"

Zordon's expression visibly sank at the question. "I... I led them, once. I wasn't a Knight but they made me their Lord many years ago. It is likely this last Knight has some harboured resentment against me from back then."

"Why? What did you do?" Cal asked.

"Time enough for that later. Right now, we must know what exactly brought the Knight here and why her duty entails The Shroud. "

"You never did say what her duty is," Kiera said.

"To guard the Powers of Soul and fight for those who cannot protect themselves. By Soul We Fight. For Soul We Die. Justice is Our Name."

"That some kind of oath?" Lara asked.

"It is the creed of the Knights of Soul. She's not so different from you Rangers, in fact. Which is why I believe she will tell you what brought her here. I'm sending you to Linden Lake. She and her Zord touched down on Carlisle Island last night and she waits there still. Alpha and I cannot tell what she is doing but she is likely tracking The Shroud from there. The Knight will see you coming, Rangers. Be careful and avoid morphing as best you can. We do not wish to provoke a fight with her. Go now and may the Power protect you."

As they were teleported away, Russ considered sharing his connection to The Shroud but thought better of it. His return to this world as a monster already made him shut himself away. He couldn't risk losing the trust of his newest allies. Kiera meant the world to him and he couldn't bear the thought of she and her team shunning him as he shunned himself. So he remained silent and was whisked off to the lake on the outskirts of town with the rest of the team.

...

Without a breeze, the lake was a silent mirror to the sky above. Scattered birch trees lined the shores and gave the area life. Constant birdsong rang out against the rocky shores, echoing in a beautiful chorus of call and response. The serene peace of the lake did nothing to calm the nerves of the Rangers.

Zordon had preached caution like never before. Whoever this Knight was, none of them knew what to expect from her. They spotted what looked like a space shuttle module on the island before they approached the only narrow bridge that led to it.

Carlisle Island was not inhabited by anyone, having been declared a nature reserve by the city but people could still travel to and from it, if they desired. One narrow footbridge had been built to connect the lake's largest island to the mainland and the Rangers began crossing it now. It was narrow enough that it forced them to walk single file, though there would be just enough room for two to walk side by side.

Kiera took the lead, standing straight and tall. She stopped the team halfway across the bridge when she realized that someone was walking toward them. The person was dressed like a Ranger in morphed form, only they wore purple. The shield on their chest was much like Russ' black one, only this one was silver. Their helmet was different, however, looking much more like something the Knights Templar would wear but still bearing the black visor they all knew well. The figure also carried a shield in their right hand, adorned with the sword and shield emblem on their chest.

The person kept walking and stopped a few feet from Kiera. They were a few inches taller than Kiera, a tall woman herself, but with even broader shoulders than the Red Ranger. Before Kiera could even say anything, the person removed their helmet and set it down on the ground between them.

A grizzled, red-haired woman stared back at Kiera with piercing green eyes and an emotionless expression. Her hair was long, tied back in a neat ponytail, and her face was battered and scarred. She looked aged and yet healthy and strong. The two of them simply stared at each other for a time. The red-haired warrior spoke first.

"Rangers. I should have known he would send you."

"Zordon did send us," Kiera said. "And we would-"

"You would what? Offer help? Has that foolish old man forgotten our creed? Has his already feeble mind slipped into the wretched darkness of senility?'

Kiera took in a sharp breath to calm her temper. "We have been sent to find out what has brought you here. Nothing more."

"You have no doubt met The Shroud who aligns herself with that monster who orbits this planet," The Knight said. "That should be your first indication."

"But why? What has The Shroud done?"

"That is for me to know. And it is for Zordon to remain in the dark. He does not deserve such knowledge."

Kiera let out another sharp breath and straightened her back a bit further. "We all have our duty. Ours is to defend this world. All we ask is for information. Forget about Zordon for a moment and remember your duty."

The Knight stepped toward Kiera and glared into her eyes. "And what would you know about my duty, Red Ranger? Yes, I know you are this team's leader. I can see it in your eyes. You've the look of a leader." The Knight's eyes suddenly shifted toward Russ. "And he has the look of a burdened man. Yours was the power that was stolen, was it not? By The Shroud?"

"It was," Russ said. "And it was Kiera, that Red Ranger in front of you, that brought me back onto the right side."

The Knight grunted slightly. "An impressive feat," she said. "But this one has been touched by her. The Shroud. You still hear her, don't you? She calls to you. Speaks to you in your sleep. I can feel it."

"I'm not sure what I hear anymore," Russ said. "I'm a monster but Kiera has at least pointed me in the right direction."

The Knight nodded and eyed Kiera again. "The Silver Ranger is loyal to you, Red Ranger. He is beholden to you. What of you? Who do you owe your loyalty to?"

"My team," Kiera answered, without hesitation. "And my boy back home."

"Not Zordon?'

"Zordon is part of my team, whether any of us like it or not."

"You are a woman of honour," The Knight said. "I can respect that. I might test your blade for myself."

"You want to fight?"

"For your honour and the honour of your team. I admit, I miss the days of leading a team into battle. And so I will lead yours."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do battle with me, Red Ranger. Cross your blade with mine. The winner will lead your team. The loser will be exiled into loneliness, forced to take up the mantle on their own."

"Why are you doing this?" Kiera asked.

"Zordon does not deserve the loyalty of anyone. Nor should he have the right to a team of Rangers. That is why I am taking over. By Soul We Fight. For Soul We Die. Justice is Our Name."

"I won't fight you."

"You will. I do not give you the choice. Morph now, Red Ranger." The Knight stood back and picked up her helmet. She placed it back onto her head and a gleaming, silver sword appeared in her left hand, its hilt and handle a deep and vibrant purple. She held up her shield and crouched low.

"None cross this bridge until you do battle with me, Red Ranger. Only once across shall you receive the information you seek."

Kiera let out a long breath and reached to her belt. She glared at The Knight and plucked the morpher from her waist. "Everyone stand back. I'm doing this alone this time. I mean it."

Her team did as she asked and stepped back several feet away from Kiera and The Knight. Kiera held the morpher out in front of her and continued her hard stare directly at The Knight's visor.

"Bull Soul Beast!"

In seconds, Kiera was fully morphed and she, too, crouched low in her fighting stance. The longsword at her side came free of its sheath and the metal sang as Kiera held it out in front of her, gripping the handle tight with both hands.

"Give me a fine duel, Red Ranger, and I shall remember you with honour."

"You will not lead this team."

The Knight took her opportunity first and her blade came screaming toward Kiera's head. Kiera barely missed getting hit and the blade still did glance off the top of her helmet. Before she could counter, however, the Knight had already jumped back well out of harm's way with her shield raised.

To retaliate, Kiera lunged forward and tried attacking the Knight's shield arm. The Knight pulled her arm back quickly and struck out again, connecting with Kiera's left shoulder. The blade sparked against Kiera's suit and knocked her backward, though she retained her balance.

In the blink Kiera took to steady herself, the Knight was on her again, slamming her shield into Kiera's head and sending her sprawling onto the bridge. The sword came down, point first, but Kiera rolled to one side to avoid it. She was up fast and grappled with the Knight, shoving her back a few steps before finally getting a good swing of her blade in. It impacted with the Knight's shield in a heavy collision that forced the Knight to move her shield aside. But she was right back on the attack again.

The Knight moved with steady precision and practiced agility the likes of which Kiera had never come up against. Her sword connected with Kiera's left shoulder again, knowing it would still be in pain. But Kiera countered this time, ignoring the pain, and hefting her sword upward in a quick, two-handed strike.

The blades connected this time and the Knight parried the blow to one side, stepping forward to attack with her shield yet again. It hit Kiera in the chest this time and caused her to stumble but she didn't fall. Instead, she caught herself on the railing and used it to launch herself forward, past the Knight, and bring her blade down hard on the Knight's silver cuirass, square in the collarbone.

The Knight felt the impact but she didn't even flinch, instead turning Kiera's momentum against her by slamming her shield into Kiera's back as she moved past. The extra push made Kiera lose balance yet again and The Knight rushed her with the blade, striking Kiera in the left shoulder with her sword a third time. By this time, however, the Knight had her back to the rest of the Rangers and Lara had seen enough.

"I'm not letting this happen," she said.

"Lara, what are you doing?" Arthur had seen her reach to her belt and grab her morpher. "You really want to piss this knight off? We have to let them finish. It's the only honourable thing to do."

"Honour's got nothing to do with it, Art. I'm just getting used to our fearless leader. No way I'm taking orders from this self-righteous bitch. Either Kiera's the leader or I quit."

"Lara... just let her finish. She'll get the upper hand."

"Not with this one," Lara said. "She's different. Better than anyone I've ever seen. Even Kiera. So I'm stepping in, whether any of you likes it or not. Lion Soul Beast!"

Lara morphed into her Ranger suit and removed the cutlass from its sheath on her left hip. A smile played at her lips as she jumped into the fray.

Kiera and the Knight had switched places again. Repeated blows, over and over, from the Knight's sword rained down on Kiera and she struggled to parry them with her own sword. She had no room for a counterattack and knew she would slip up eventually. But then a familiar, irritating voice from behind her spoke.

"Heads up, fearless leader!"

Kiera turned her head in time to see a yellow streak blur past her vision, running along the railing. Just as the Knight's sword was coming into contact with Kiera's again, Lara landed in behind the Knight, forcing her to turn around and block Lara's cutlass with her shield. Her speed was still blinding and impressive; something Lara had never seen before.

All three of them went still as the Knight turned her glare upon the new challenger. "This is not your fight. You dishonour both of us with your interference. Stand aside."

"Shut up. You're not my damn leader and I won't let you beat up on mine. This ain't a duel anymore."

"Lara, back off!" Kiera said.

"No can do, fearless leader. She wins this duel and takes your spot, then I quit. So either we fight together or I walk. Your choice."

"Lara, don't do this. I will win this fight."

"No you won't. Not with this one. But you and me, Kiera, we could take her. What do you think?"

Kiera let out a long breath. "I'm not exactly up for losing my team... fine. But we do it my way."

"Cowards!" the Knight snarled. "Have you no honour?"

"Not a shred," Lara said, stepping back. "Let's go."

The Knight whirled on Lara in a rage and peppered her with heavy, fast strikes of her blade. Lara was quick enough to avoid or block every one of them but the Knight's ferocity would tire her out if it kept up like this. And the Knight seemed tireless. But Kiera intervened and attacked the Knight from behind, grappling with her powerful shield arm and wrenching her sideways.

She shoved the strong knight against the railing, slamming her shield arm repeatedly until the Knight dropped her shield. The Knight, stronger than even Kiera, pushed the Red Ranger away and she slammed into the other railing. Kiera was on the ground in seconds when the Knight jumped forward and hammered her sword into the Red Ranger's chest. But she had been blinded to the presence of the Yellow Ranger and Lara took full advantage, her cutlass slamming down onto the Knight's sword. It was wrenched free of her grasp and Lara, the smaller fighter, shouldered the bigger Knight to one side and back into the railing again.

By this time, Kiera had gotten back to her feet and charged at the Knight, finally managing to knock her off balance. The Knight hit the bridge hard on her back. With both Rangers on top of her in an instant, defeat seemed inevitable. But as soon as the two Rangers moved to pick her up again, a person appeared from nowhere and blocked them from doing so.

A person, shrouded in a white cloak, knelt down and grabbed the Knight by the throat and picked her up. In an instant, the Knight disappeared along with the figure and her weapons dissipated into nothing. Kiera and Lara stared at the bridge and then exchanged glances. Nothing could have prepared them for all of that.

"What the hell just happened?" Lara asked.

"I don't know. Who was that?"

Lara paused but then the thought hit her. "Shit. That was her. The Shroud. She came after The Knight. She must have."

"Well what do we do now?"

Lara shrugged. "Hey, you're still the fearless leader, thanks to me. Why not try going over to that island and finding out why she came here?"

Before Kiera could shout something back at Lara, Zordon spoke into all of their helmet communicators.

"Rangers, you need to return immediately. I will explain when you get back."

The six Rangers remained in silence as they were teleported back to the Command Centre, now with even more questions.


End file.
